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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated
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To: michael97123 who wrote (25611)1/21/2004 9:32:03 PM
From: Lane3  Read Replies (4) of 793782
 
I don't remember Nixon advocating a negative income tax. I may have slept through that. I do remember picking up a book on it during LBJ's time. It appealed to me at the time. I was entertaining a lot of strange ideas then. I'm more selective on my strange ideas now probably because I'm old enough to have heard them all before. <g>

Anyway, what I remember about that negative income tax was canoe building or some such. The gist was that there was, say, a master canoe builder whose canoes were works of genius. But it took a long time to build them and there wasn't much market for them so the guy couldn't earn much. Given that genius canoes enrich our world even if he sells only three a year, the guy should get some negative income tax, which would allow him to live his dream and make a decent living making canoes.

That appealed to me at the time. I used to bring it up at parties when I wanted to sound hip and smart. Since then I've concluded that we don't really need people making canoes no one wants enough to pay for them. That's sad in a way because I appreciate beauty. Humanity is diminished by Walmart products. But that's the price we pay for a robust economy. And the potential for abuse is vast. Like I could decide I want to spend half an hour a day peeling wallpaper and expect the taxpayers to make up the difference between what I earn doing that (nothing) and what I need to live.

So, that's what I know and think about the negative income tax. I'm prepared to listen if you want to make a pitch.
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