Similarly, “money makes people better off” isn’t a direct effect of giving them money—it’s mediated by the fact that people can use that money to buy things.
And even that’s not quite completely true. I’m pretty sure people are generally happier immediately after you give them money, even before they spend it! (They correctly anticipate being able to use that money as you describe, i.e. buying or paying for things.)
But I also worry that “this is the immediate effect” is trying to justify them on grounds that don’t work?
Yes, that’s my ‘concern’ as well. Even when ‘direct’ effects aren’t explicitly stated, it doesn’t seem like that’s always, or even mostly, because those effects are being ignored as much as that (implicitly) they shouldn’t be the dominant consideration. That’s a harder thing to disentangle generally.
And even that’s not quite completely true. I’m pretty sure people are generally happier immediately after you give them money, even before they spend it! (They correctly anticipate being able to use that money as you describe, i.e. buying or paying for things.)
Yes, that’s my ‘concern’ as well. Even when ‘direct’ effects aren’t explicitly stated, it doesn’t seem like that’s always, or even mostly, because those effects are being ignored as much as that (implicitly) they shouldn’t be the dominant consideration. That’s a harder thing to disentangle generally.