"Minimum Guaranteed Income" for 700,000 persons (Greece)

capital.gr ^ | 10-15-14 | unattributed

[98ZJ USMC]

Welfare keeps people poor; its discourages work and it doesn’t promote well-being of individuals and families. No one has any incentive to do better out of fear of losing their meager government benefits.

Its good to see conservatives and liberals get behind a social initiative that shows a great deal of promise in attacking poverty and social injustice. The pilot program looks worth the while. I wish Greece good luck with it.

Just what do you think a minimum guaranteed income is?

[goldstategop]

Its a floor below which no one can fall. The idea is that if you work, you can keep whatever you make above the floor and still keep that basic income - after all its a guarantee.

Welfare operates on the reverse principle. You get a small amount of money that’s not worth to live on and if you make more at work, you lose what benefits you do have.

Conservatives and libertarians are right to attack welfare for getting many things wrong but the idea of social justice and uplifting every one is both humane and necessary. The debate is over how best to achieve it.

[Bruce Kurtz]

“This was made possible, Samaras said “with the surpluses of the country and the fact that Greece can cover its social needs on its own.”

Greece was closer than a gnat’s ass from going bankrupt a couple years ago, they were bailed out twice.

And according to BlackRock back in Jul 14, “Greece is the likeliest country to go bankrupt, even surpassing countries embroiled in civil strife and tension, such as Egypt and Ukraine.”

[Moltke]

The only “surplus” I could fathom would stem from bailout funds from the EU or the IMF. I.e., not a surplus in real-world terms.

But I suppose some portion of the Greek electorate is lapping this up as God’s own truth. “I want, therefore I deserve, therefore I’m owed” = social “justice” per many a priest.