The proposal <http://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/-in-our-hands_105549266790.pdf> from the conservative thinktank American Enterprise Institute's scholar Charles Murray is worded as follows:
Henceforth, federal, state, and local governments shall make no law nor establish any program that provides benefits to some citizens but not to others. All programs currently providing such benefits are to be terminated. The funds formerly allocated to them are to be used instead to provide every citizen with a cash grant beginning at age twenty-one and continuing until death. The annual value of the cash grant at the program’s outset is to be $10,000. So your 300M population is too high and your $15,000 is as well. On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 10:09 PM, David Roberson <[email protected]> wrote: > Did you stop to make an estimate of the amount of money being distributed > if this scheme is implemented? A quick figure is 300,000,000 x 15,000 = > 4.5 trillion bucks! The entire GDP of the US in 2014 was 17.4 trillion > dollars. It appears that a tax rate of about 40% of the GDP would be > required just to give out that much money, not counting defense, and all > the other required government functions. > > From the budget numbers I found on wikipedia it looks like the total tax > taken in by the government would at least double in order to cover the > distribution. I suspect that the burden upon the economy would be too > great to sustain anywhere near the amounts we are considering. > > Perhaps someone can check my figures and see if they make sense. I am in > favor of some type of system, but the numbers need to be reasonable. > > Dave > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Orionworks - Steven Vincent Johnson <[email protected]> > To: vortex-l <[email protected]> > Sent: Wed, Dec 10, 2014 10:07 pm > Subject: RE: [Vo]:OT: what if everybody got free cash? > > Jed, > > You suggested our country should pay our citizens somewhere in the > neighborhood $10,000. The idea would be that the amount, being modest would > only be enough to pay for the bare necessities - but not enough to actually > live on unless groups got together and "roomed" together in a dwelling to > split the rent/mortgage, and/or to get jobs. I came to a similar conclusion > myself some time ago. We can quibble about how much might be considered a > minimum guaranteed income everyone should be entitled to get, but I get the > idea. Personally, I think I'd make guaranteed minimum income base closer to > $15,000. > > I'm still not sure about what kind of jobs such citizens would be willing > to take. You think few if any would be willing to work at minimum wage. I'm > not so sure about that. I think there might be some would still work at a > minimum-wage job because they know it would nevertheless supplement their > guaranteed base income. I'm also assuming such individuals might be > somewhat disadvantaged (perhaps physically or mentally) in some way and > would feel they might not be capable of getting any kind of a better paying > job. That said, I also hope the vast majority would feel financially > capable of looking for a far more satisfying jobs that pay a decent wage to > supplement their guaranteed income base. > > And, yes, the conservative sectors of our countries would most likely blow > a gasket. Why? Just because they think it's wrong!!! It might help their > blood pressure if we could find out how much the government might save > through the dismantling and streamlining of a number of welfare programs > that currently cost billions of dollars to fund each year. I assume many > government hand-out programs would no longer be necessary to be funded, or > certainly not at the level they are currently maintained at. Indeed, it > might turn out to be cheaper. If the cost saving concept could get through > a conservative mindset I think they would quickly capitulate and start > claiming it was their idea all along. In any case, problem solved. > > Hopefully more and more countries will start experimenting with this > guaranteed income program, and hopefully we will soon see additional > evidence that suggests doing so actually benefits society far more than > fearing it will drain the coffers of the country and/or lead to > hyperinflation. > > As for me, I look forward to doing new kinds of work in my retirement. It > will be nice to be paid to do what I want to work on. > > Regards, > Steven Vincent Johnson > svjart.orionworks.com > zazzle.com/orionworks > >
