[Josh Martin]
The author of this post begins by highlighting the issues with the current benefits system in the UK: it is too confusing, too complex, and too inefficient. Further, the recent emphasis on employment as the best route out of poverty has proven false. Research has shown that even full-time work cannot guarantee one’s financial well-being. The author then shows why the recently created Universal Credit will fail and why the ideal benefits system is a negative income tax that establishes a guaranteed minimum income (much like a basic income). This system will save the government money and will help ease the transition into an even more technological economy.
The Conversative, “Should the Conservative Party adopt a Negative Income Tax?”, The ConVersative, 7 July 2014.