Comments on: Income security and the pursuit of happiness http://www.incomesecurityforall.org/income-security-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:34:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Charles Frohman http://www.incomesecurityforall.org/income-security-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness/comment-page-1#comment-6255 Charles Frohman Thu, 21 May 2009 23:18:25 +0000 http://www.incomesecurityforall.org/?p=926#comment-6255 Nice post Steve, and great work on replacing the Welfare State with Friedman's negative income tax (basic income). As with the national sales tax debate, though, we libertarians won't join you until the Welfare state first is abolished. Otherwise, as almost happened - as you mentioned above - we'll get yet another Welfare entitlement on top of all the others bankrupting us and our progeny. If progressives acquiesce to abolition of their bureaucratic welfare model, then we libertarians might consider capitating welfare payments to the poor, maybe even the middle class. But we'd still be holding our breath, as such annual payments inevitably would grow larger as programs always do (as Jefferson, of whom you alluded, said with that famous quote about the incremental steps by which liberty is smothered). Also, to sell the minimum income we really would need Rich Cook's replacement of central banking/fiat currency with the private bank cross-guarantee system combined with gold-backed currency. This is necessary to protect the income packet from debasement (loss of purchasing power). I can easily imagine a paradise with your basic income plan. I could get my income, with protected purchasing power (from free banking and gold currency), with a national sales tax taking only a small portion (as all other taxes, except for taxes on unimproved property) are abolished. No regulations would remain to interfere in job creation or acquisition, and foreign affairs would return to free markets and free trade, not War. That's my paradise, and your plan can be a part of it, and maybe I'd even enjoy that basic income so I could just relax and not work so hard - maybe even quit my awful public school teaching job. Cheers Steve. Charlie Nice post Steve, and great work on replacing the Welfare State with Friedman’s negative income tax (basic income). As with the national sales tax debate, though, we libertarians won’t join you until the Welfare state first is abolished. Otherwise, as almost happened – as you mentioned above – we’ll get yet another Welfare entitlement on top of all the others bankrupting us and our progeny.

If progressives acquiesce to abolition of their bureaucratic welfare model, then we libertarians might consider capitating welfare payments to the poor, maybe even the middle class. But we’d still be holding our breath, as such annual payments inevitably would grow larger as programs always do (as Jefferson, of whom you alluded, said with that famous quote about the incremental steps by which liberty is smothered).

Also, to sell the minimum income we really would need Rich Cook’s replacement of central banking/fiat currency with the private bank cross-guarantee system combined with gold-backed currency. This is necessary to protect the income packet from debasement (loss of purchasing power).

I can easily imagine a paradise with your basic income plan. I could get my income, with protected purchasing power (from free banking and gold currency), with a national sales tax taking only a small portion (as all other taxes, except for taxes on unimproved property) are abolished.

No regulations would remain to interfere in job creation or acquisition, and foreign affairs would return to free markets and free trade, not War.

That’s my paradise, and your plan can be a part of it, and maybe I’d even enjoy that basic income so I could just relax and not work so hard – maybe even quit my awful public school teaching job.

Cheers Steve.
Charlie

]]>