UBI is back in the news, which means confused takes about UBI are back in the news. I said most of what I have to say in this thread:https://twitter.com/St_Rev/status/737895094460780544 …
-
-
You don't need to lower the average benefit; you could flatten the MTR curve in a number of ways (e.g. explicit tax hikes, or switch current phaseouts to a phase-in to cash benefits and add new gradual phaseouts at higher incomes).
-
I'm trying to get across the idea that it doesn't necessitate ruinous/absurd levels of new taxes per se. Obviously there are ways to do it _with_ absurd levels of new taxes.
-
I don't have numbers on me right now but I believe you can eliminate most of the MTR problem without cuts and without absurd tax hikes; I agree of course with your general point that none of this creates an income that allows anyone to just stop working.
-
The intuition about "without absurd tax hikes" is that, right now, most people are *already* paying those implicit rates on their first
$X of income, so it doesn't muck things up too much for lots and lots of people to reallocate their inframarginal rates.
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
there is also the advantage that I harp on, every time the topic comes up: "we should do it not to help the poor, but to punish the social workers" (tongue in cheek - helping the poor is good too)
- 1 more reply
New conversation -
-
-
My single mom with two kids sister got a free car and enrolled in community college like thirty years ago. Got her benefits slashed so hard she had to drop out to prove she was sorta poor again. "Sorta poor" bc: free car. And that was before Democrats went gung ho for that shit.
-
And that was OREGON
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
If you're going to have an expansive welfare state, just do UBI already - no more bickering about whether X should get welfare $, no need for massive expensive painful bureaucracy. Give everyone a povertyline+$1 income and be done with it. 1/
- 1 more reply
New conversation -
-
-
there's money and power in not reducing benefits tho
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.
. Banned in Sweden. SubGenius, Zhuangist, white-hat troll. Defrocked mathematician. Brain problems.