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Do you also believe that welfare recipients would not miss welfare payments if they were suspended today, or does "supply and demand" not function presently to
by arebop 11y ago
Do you also believe that welfare recipients would not miss welfare payments if they were suspended today, or does "supply and demand" not function presently to neutralize the effect of transfer payments in society?
The second bit about people squandering resources has been nicely answered by Friedman in his discussion of negative income tax: it is better to have individual market participants make occasional mistakes than to suffer the greater inefficiencies of central planning [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtpgkX588nM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtpgkX588nM].
- AstralStorm 11y agoOf course such a tax is progressive, which hurts rich people much more than a flat payout. Other points made by Friedman are hilarious, especially the part about people not wanting to go to work when on basic income. It's basic. I don't know a person who wants to live in a near poverty situation.
- ctdonath 11y agoIt's not that they want to be poor, it's that you're making it viable for them to lounge instead of work. A great many would rather sleep in and watch TV all day, instead of get up early and work hard for not a significant improvement in living. Every time I go to help the poor at their homes, I'm amazed at how many choose their conditions by opting for behaviors causing their poverty.