Honestly I do think we need something as a bare backbone for each US citizen to receive to live on at this point, but implementing it in a fair way would be crazy hard to set up.
Crime costs us way too much, prisons are a huge drain etc. I suggest the following.
Everyone in jail for drug related (non-violent etc) charges are released. Drugs are now legal and taxes everywhere in the US. Prostitution is also legal and taxed across the US.
Personal Tax deductions are increased to 15k per person (30k if married).
Every US Citizen regardless of age is given $500 a month, this is taken out of any taxes owed first though, and this counts towards taxable income as well. For those who pay taxes, this can actually be held and removed from taxes at the end of the year, allowing you to just get a check for whatever is left over.
All income flat across the board (after expenses and deductables with the standard 10% minimum tax on total income still applying) is taxed at a flat rate of 40% for everyone, over and above your individual deduction.
With that 40% setup that pretty much means that you won't pay taxes at all, on the first $2000 you make a month (The $500 would cover the taxes you would normally pay).
The $500 replaces food stamps, and most goverment assitance programs (not medical though). It does not replace social security though, which is in addition to the $500.
Someone working min wage, 40 hours a week would now net about $10 an hour base, or $1600 a month, and with the $500 would have about $2100 to spend per month (enough to live just fine almost anywhere in the US).
Waaaay less people would end up in Jail. More taxes over all would be collected (by a fairly large amount if the states taxing pot are anything to go by).
It would be a start, and I think we could pull it off without increasing the deficit at all, and maybe start dropping it down. Considering that most of my friends currently making over $200k a year pay less then 30% in taxes right now, that alone would make up for the difference anyway (and my friends are not even asshats working the system to pay as little as possible).
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