Guaranteed Annual Income

Gift giving has the side effect of raising the status of the giver and lowering the status of the receiver if the receiver is poorer than the giver. Ironically, gift giving has the opposite side effect of lowering the status of the giver and raising the status of the receiver if the receiver is richer than the giver. This works even for welfare and disability pensions. The case workers can’t help but feel vastly superior and start treating the people they are serving like dirt. To avoid these side effects, we could use a guaranteed annual income that everybody gets without a means test. It is taxable income, so the wealthy people who don’t need it, effectively give it back in the form of taxes. It gets rid of the bureaucracy that decides who is worthy of receiving help. There is no stigma since everybody gets the benefit. There is no disincentive to find work, or start a home business since 100% of the benefit continues even if you work part or full time or run your own not-very-profitable business.

~ Roedy (1948-02-04 age:70)