Yes the system is rigged for the rich. When there is no more middle class people will revolt.
That is my concern too. Disgruntled humans can do horrible things.When there is no more middle class people will revolt.
Can we agree the current way we address poverty in the US ...through layered welfare programs.....isn’t working. You’ve got temporary assistance for needy families, food stamps or SNAP, Medicaid, housing assistance, women Infants and Children (WIC), energy assistance (LIHEAP), and general freebies. In most states, it all adds up to more than a minimum wage job. In some states it adds up to more than a $15-$20/hr job.
Even poor people aren’t stupid enough to leave welfare for a job that pays less. Especially, if they lose their Medicaid coverage. It demonstrates just how hard it is for the poor to escape the system. And not only does the system work against them, it also provides an opportunity for wealthy or secure people to suggest the poor are lazy because they won’t get a job.
We have applied an anti poverty program for our citizens that does nothing to lift people out of poverty. That’s a system that needs to be replaced. There is only one way to accomplish the guaranteed national income and that is a significant tax increase.
I think part of the problem with all the various programs that Williamsmith mentions is that no one consulted an economist when designing them. As WS points out, an economically rational person isn't going to get a job if it means having less income. If we actually want people to work we should design these programs so that benefits go down gradually as a person's earned income increases. We do that with the EITC so you'd think we could do that with SNAP or any of the others. Or if we decide to replace all of them with something new we need to use the same concept when setting benefit levels. Otherwise we'll have the same problem, just with a simpler structure.
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