It costs a lot to administer the welfare bureaucracy and make sure the money goes to those who are entitled to it, and even then many people that aren't entitled to it game the system on a daily basis. I imagine a world where there is minimal administration since everyone gets the same amount, and it's all paid for by just gutting the current welfare system and it's administrative fees. I hope it's tried someday.
I still liked Milton Friedmans proposal for a negative income tax for this reason.
You just piggyback on the existing income reporting mechanism of the IRS - just add a filing for people with no income. And the way the IRS withholds for tax season is just done in reverse.
Yes there would be fraud, but no more than the amount of fraud that already happens on taxes. If anything, it actually incentivizes us to finally fix our tax system.
