(2006-02-23) Kling Tax Welfare Proposal

Arnold Kling proposes a Negative Income Tax that's based on a Consumption Tax, discussing where his results differ from the current Welfare State. To put it succinctly, the Welfare State makes losers out of people who want to get ahead through hard work, thrift, or education. Those are precisely the activities that produce economic growth and social wealth, and they are hit particularly hard by Welfare State redistribution. Some people think there needs to be a Land Tax added, as buying land typically doesn't count as consumption.