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> After accounting for indirect taxes and in-kind transfers, the US redistributes a greater share of national income to low-income groups than any European coun
by radu_floricica 4y ago
> After accounting for indirect taxes and in-kind transfers, the US redistributes a greater share of national income to low-income groups than any European country. "Predistribution," not "redistribution," explains why Europe is less unequal than the United States.
But that's good, right?... Economists tend to say that if you want to solve a social problem, the least disruptive way of doing it is just giving them money. It usually has better outcomes and much less side effects than trying to contort the society into a complicated shape that fixes the same problem, and breaks a dozen invisible things in the process.
- imtringued 4y agoYou can pay 200€ to every citizen per month for one year but it can only be spent on natural gas or it can be spent on anything. Which one is better for gas prices? Which one encourages people to consume less gas? Which one is better for society? Which one is less of a pain to administrate? Which one was already written in the coalition contract? There is this co2 dividend that the greens and FDP and SPD promised but they delayed it to 2024. I suspect that it is too close to a UBI and they don't want to open that can of worms. But they are happy to spend more and more money on fossil fuel subsidies to enrich fossil fuel companies. That's where those 200€ per month go. Anyone who doesn't want to spend his money on burning gas gets screwed.
- thefz 4y ago> But that's good, right?. It's an ever going band-aid, so no.