Better than the welfare state we have now. If you’re going to hand out so much money to so many people for so many reasons, may as well just give everyone a flat amount and keep it simple. Not saying I like it, just that it would be an improvement.
Problem is, the system doesn’t want a simple solution. The complexity is there to employ as many as possible, magnifying the bureaucrat’s power. Give everyone a flat monthly check, and all kinds of exceptions for additional income will be invented, requiring the same voluminous bureaucracy we have now - just with a higher baseline cost.
And that’s the problem I have with flat tax (whatever flavor): just gets the government into even more of society, establishes a higher baseline, and will be “exceptioned” into something even more complex and costly than the IRS we have now.
Agree. I hate it, but it would be an improvement over the status quo that creates so many disincentives to get out of poverty and take action to improve one’s lot in life.
It would basically turn welfare programs into a block grant for the entire population.
Instead of bureaucrats warning people not to work too hard or they’ll lose their welfare benefits, people would be given a specific sum of money to support themselves and if they earn more than that, no problem - the grant is still theirs to keep.
Its simple to administer and empowers people how to save, invest and spend. An income guarantee is pro freedom and pro work. But a few conservatives as well many liberals want to tell people what to do so getting rid of top bottom welfare programs in practice won’t be easy.
Giving up control over others is the hardest people can do and human nature as much as politics have prevented an income guarantee from being adopted.