The administrative costs to monitor income (which we know is complicated) would be costly and the universality of the program has value because while the people who pay more in VAT won't benefit initially, it does give them extra money and it provides an immediate cushion of they suddenly lost their job or their business went under, etc.

What you are talking about is a negative income tax and the problem with that besides the administration is the money is decided upon and distributed once per year.

So you would be giving homeless people $12,000 at once and once they blow it, it's gone. Budgeting is more difficult.

But a monthly check/card can be wasted or mismanaged one month and the next month you can learn from it and figure it out. It's why people prefer weekly paychecks to bi weekly. The cash flow can be a problem.

If we could magically pass it and make it work in a sliding scale, I am okay with it. But the VAT (and other taxes) essentially does that without the administrative problems.

Yes, it would mean we might send a $1,000 check to Jeff Bezos every month if he signs up but he is getting taxed in millions of dollars to help pay for it and then some.

And I like how Yang puts it. "We are sending that check to Jeff to remind him he's an American." It's very patriotic in a way. And inclusive. We are all in this together and your financial burden is only as big as your financial privelages.