I’m not very well informed on this topic, but isn’t something like that always going to be the case in a society with a safety net? e.g., if we make sure everyone has at least $25k to live on, anyone making $8k a year isn’t going to be any worse off than someone making $25k.
Of course I’m not sure how well America’s arcane maze of benefits, tax deductions and whatnot fit into this simple abstraction.
Safety net should be a slope, not a cliff. Earning your first dollar shouldn’t mean you get $1 less in benefits—there’s actually a good argument for subsidizing the first $X of income - which is what the EITC is. Basically negative income tax.
I’m not very well informed on this topic, but isn’t something like that always going to be the case in a society with a safety net? e.g., if we make sure everyone has at least $25k to live on, anyone making $8k a year isn’t going to be any worse off than someone making $25k.
Of course I’m not sure how well America’s arcane maze of benefits, tax deductions and whatnot fit into this simple abstraction.
Safety net should be a slope, not a cliff. Earning your first dollar shouldn’t mean you get $1 less in benefits—there’s actually a good argument for subsidizing the first $X of income - which is what the EITC is. Basically negative income tax.