We already have this. It is a combination of Earned Income Credit and about 140 welfare programs. Working the “system” one can take in $52,000 here in MA. Your state may vary.
I notice the author claims Milton Friedman supported this idea. I doubt it, but I could see how he might say that it would be better than what you point out we have now.
First, it wouldn’t punish people for working, at least not directly. And since there would be (supposedly) no strings attached, you wouldn’t need the millions of federal, state and local administrators to run it. It’s possible it could save enough on administration to make up for paying all those extra checks, while encouraging poor people to work and save.
But of course, “no strings attached” would never happen. The nature of government is to attach strings to everything we do. The morality police on the left and right would demand that the money be tracked and not allowed to be used on whatever vices they deemed unacceptable. And the left and some on the right would complain about “the rich” getting subisdies, and those who worked hard to get ahead would find their “mincome” taxed or otherwise reduced, and once again government would be in the business of punishing success and subsidizing failure.
Why yes. And Howie Carr was on a screed a while back that this fact combined with the Forensic Evidence being Jimmied ( let 10,000 perps go? ) and the Lawsuit that will probably involve the State of MA (i.e. their blessing of the Lab with the Tainted Injections) add up in a way to denote the Bay State is headed for real trouble. He also mentioned "Romneycare" is also squeezing budgets. With that said, how soon before MA is broke?
That's why the author mentioned Richard Nixon. He was the originator of the Earned Income Credit. He didn't get to stay around long enough to sign it into law, that "honor" fell to Gerald Ford.
How high is rent in Ma.?