General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A Reverse Income Tax: A Bold Replacement for Social Security, Welfare, Food Stamps, and others [View all]MFrohike
(1,980 posts)FDR believed the payroll tax was the key to preserving Social Security because it gave each recipient a concrete stake in the program. He felt that nobody would ever be able to take away the money that people had contributed precisely because it could be shown that they had contributed. It would be damn hard for some "conservative" to come along 80 years later and kill the program because people would be incensed at the theft of their money.
I really don't like the idea because, which I failed to say before, I don't like transfer payments unaccompanied by a work requirement. Perhaps your idea does have such a requirement, but I didn't see it. I would prefer something like the jobs guarantee, where government provides employment to cover the slack between current unemployment and full employment.