Originally posted by: LiveFreeNW
Depends on how you sell it. You could stress the cost savings and efficiencies that could be created.
As far as the distancecentive to work is concerned I would reply:
If we were starting from ground zero, that could certainly be the case but we are not. We are starting with the current "welfare state". We are already spending money on this issue. This is about making it more efficient and streamlined to save money and reduce fraud.
It provides no more disincentive to work than the current system.
In fact it provides less disincentive to work than the current system.
If someone receiving benefits gets a job and stops benefits, it can be very difficult to get back on welfare if they lose that job a year or two later. This is a powerful disincentive against finding work and encourages people to get trapped in the system long-term.
A negative income tax would eliminate that problem.
As far as fraud is concerned, or wastefraudabuse as MAGA terms it, I can see people earning money under the table to avoid having their tax credits lowered/eliminated. But I suppose that's prevalent now.
How would you feel about the government simply providing basic food, clothing, shelter, and medical care to everyone, and the first X% of income being taxed, on some kind of graduated scale? Much like today's system, we could exempt the first $X of earnings from taxation.
My thought is, you could choose to live a basic life, with survival and health assured, but if you wanted any kind of amusement, luxuries, or possessions, you'd have to earn them by working. Then your earnings would be taxed, mildly at first but then steeply progressively.
This would be effectively a negative income tax with an initial exemption (first $10K earned, something like that, would be tax-free). But rather than a cash payment to non- or low earners, that would be tendered in the form of the basic stuff of life, as detailed above. You might live in a dormitory, eat bland cafeteria food, etc., but you could survive and do so indefinitely if you wanted.
