Chris Hayes is what passes for a progressive intellectual at MSNBC.

Which makes his simple-minded and manifestly mistaken proposal that much more maddening. Making a peek-a-boo video-clip appearance on today's Melissa Harris-Perry's show, which focused on finding solutions to poverty in America, Hayes was seen holding up a hand-written sign with his solution, reading "Giving people money: It's actually that easy."  View the video after the jump.

Perhaps Hayes hadn't tuned in to hear Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute make the point that the U.S. already has 126 federal anti-poverty programs that spend $688 billion every year, with state and local programs spending another $280 billion.  Almost a trillion given to poor people each year--with no significant impact on reducing poverty!