The Time/ Dignity Test
1. Time Cost
How much unpaid time does this policy require from the person it’s meant to help?
Forms
Appointments
Waiting periods
Re-certifications
Phone trees
If participation requires hours people don’t have, the policy fails.
2. Cognitive Load
How complex is this to understand and navigate?
Multiple agencies
Conflicting instructions
Legal language
Constant rule changes
If you need a caseworker, a lawyer, or insider knowledge to survive it, the policy fails.
3. Dignity & Shame
Does this policy treat people as competent adults — or as suspects?
Means testing that humiliates
Repeated proof of worthiness
Assumptions of fraud
Public exposure of private hardship
If the process itself creates shame, the policy fails.
4. Risk of Delay
What happens to someone if this policy moves slowly?
Do they lose housing?
Miss medical care?
Lose a job?
Accumulate debt?
If delay causes irreversible harm, urgency must be built in — or the policy fails.
5. Who Absorbs the Friction
When the system breaks, who pays the price?
The individual?
Their kids?
Their employer?
Or the institution?
If institutions are insulated and individuals carry the consequences, the policy fails.
If it fails the test, it needs rethinking.
