> many poor families will be unable to claim the UBI but will still pay the tax this making the whole system regressive at low incomes
Disability is one thing (I think that it should stack with disability), but let's not look at the existing welfare system with overly-rosy lenses:
* TANF has been repeatedly cut back and now only 23% of households in poverty are receiving benefits. (universal programs like UBI are more resistant to cuts like this)
* Depending on your state, SNAP and TANF together still don't even get your family to the poverty line
* There are reporting requirements and other administrative hoops to jump through, aid is meant to be "temporary"
A UBI benefits way more people, and a VAT would end up falling more on the rich (even assuming 100% passthrough (in Europe it's ~50%) you'd have to spend more than $12k a month to offset the UBI).
Disability is one thing (I think that it should stack with disability), but let's not look at the existing welfare system with overly-rosy lenses:
* TANF has been repeatedly cut back and now only 23% of households in poverty are receiving benefits. (universal programs like UBI are more resistant to cuts like this)
* Depending on your state, SNAP and TANF together still don't even get your family to the poverty line
* There are reporting requirements and other administrative hoops to jump through, aid is meant to be "temporary"
https://www.cbpp.org/research/family-income-support/more-sta...
A UBI benefits way more people, and a VAT would end up falling more on the rich (even assuming 100% passthrough (in Europe it's ~50%) you'd have to spend more than $12k a month to offset the UBI).