this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2025
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[–] prodigalsorcerer 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

It doesn't really though. The only problem it outlines is that it doesn't pay a living wage. It says nothing about why it's a problem that people with high incomes also get this (other than it's unfair). It then suggests making it more complicated (increasing overhead) so that poor people can get more.

But it's much simpler than that. Just pay everyone more. Make it an actual basic income at living wage, and adjust the tax brackets appropriately.

Then expand it to include everyone instead of just seniors.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago

It says nothing about why it's a problem that people with high incomes also get this (other than it's unfair).

That's a pretty good reason. It's using the income of taxpayers to subsidize seniors with above average income. Yes, about half of that is clawed back, but it's a poor use of resources.

It then suggests making it more complicated (increasing overhead) so that poor people can get more.

Payouts are already scaled by income. Changing the scaling rates does not increase complexity, but it does improve fairness.