Jesse sent me a link to a NYTimes article the other day, about a proposal in Switzerland to give everyone a basic living stipend.  The idea was it would wipe out poverty.  The stipend wouldn't be enough that anyone was tempted to live on just that, but enough that someone in a low-wage job could be able to feed and house themselves.  At least, that was my interpretation.

In America, the idea is we'd eliminate all subsidy programs and have the same, blanket amount for everyone.  No welfare, medicaid, housing subsidies, or any of the various programs to help people in a tight spot.  Because hopefully, there would be no true tight spots, if everyone had a subsistence level income.

It's socialism, but that's not necessarily bad.  It sounds interesting to me.  I believe it would be cheaper to administer, although the stipend department would need to be huge to take care of and track it all.  Would it apply to everyone?  Would we have an income-cutoff point?  Could someone donate their stipend to someone else?  Would it actually save money?

Food for thought.