Re:We Need a Basic Income Guarantee
by sliverstorm on Monday September 02, 2013 @01:06AM
(#6313530)
You could do it, you'd just need the world's steepest tax rates- and not marginal tax like the USA, either, where the top marginal bracket is 40% but the effective tax will be much lower. We're probably talking you take home one dollar for every three you earn.
ironically probably penalise...
This actually brings a really interesting point to mind. When everyone gets 2500CHF, the people who are currently working for 1250CHF have in a sense had their incomes slashed. They go from being infinitely richer than the unemployed, to only 50% richer (on a monthly income basis). So instead of lifting themselves high above the jobless, the same amount of work now lifts them only a little bit. I am unsure at the moment whether this can be described as decreasing the marginal utility of the income they currently earn.
ironically probably penalise...
This actually brings a really interesting point to mind. When everyone gets 2500CHF, the people who are currently working for 1250CHF have in a sense had their incomes slashed. They go from being infinitely richer than the unemployed, to only 50% richer (on a monthly income basis). So instead of lifting themselves high above the jobless, the same amount of work now lifts them only a little bit. I am unsure at the moment whether this can be described as decreasing the marginal utility of the income they currently earn.