http://www.alternet.org/story/152988/the_moral_force_of_ows_is_tackling_the_devastating_war_on_the_poor?page=entire
Perhaps it is time to stop helping the poor. Perhaps it is time to help everyone. We need Social Security safety net to pay for food, shelter, and healthcare for both Homeless Joe and
Big-rich Joe. We don't need a Bureaucracy for Begging .
This isn't about deciding who is poor and who is rich. This is about deciding how to protect the essentials of life[food,shelter, and health care] for ever citizen of our Nation. This is about how to do it with efficiency and without excessive bureaucracy. This is about maximum Freedom of choice in every persons life choices without Government Big Brother Agency interference.
With my total Social Security Network, we would save all the money we spend on food assistance, rent assistance and medicaid. We would save the money we spend on the Bureaucracy for Begging. The System would not require weeding.
As for Money, there is no shortage. A simple extension of FICA from the current $107,000 maximum to all income would more than double the tax income. Adding an additional 3% to the contribution of employers would generate a huge amount. A 3% tax [tariffs] on imports of goods & service] is another possibility. Transaction tax on Banks or added value tax or a dozen other possibilities exist.
If you give the benefit automatically, almost 90% of the population will receive a benefit greater than the tax they pay for it. No one would be able to say I don't want to be taxed for a bunch of free-loaders. Even the very Rich who would pay more than they receive will still get the exact same benefit.
The whole system would just be a function of society . No one is means tested to ride on the Highway. The only difference is the size of your car. No one is means tested to have service from Police or Firemen. Only the value of what needs protecting is a variable. No one is means test to go to public School. Being rich just gives you more choice. And last but not least, by 2050 production of goods & service will be done by less than 40% of the available labor because of automation, technology, and robotics. The permanently unemployed will have to be sustained or Society will be unstable. Now is the time to begin creating a distribution system of life essentials .
