Here is an interesting bit from one of my fellow Glibertarians on the idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI.)  Excerpt:

I would do away with all the various programs and bureaucrats and whatnot and implement a partial UBI. Whoever applies for UBI gets it the next month, no means testing, no questions asked. But the kicker is, you get 120 months of this over working lifetime, say 18 to 68. It is up to you how you use your months. If you are done by 30, I have a nice ditch for you. I assume, in such a scenario, to be palatable to the majority, there will inevitably be an exception for severe disability. Outside that, this should satisfy all those who claim they want an actual safety net. 20% of your lifetime is plenty for a safety net, any more and it becomes a hammock.

I do wonder how many on the left would find this agreeable… I mean it removes a lot of the “humiliation” people go through the classic process. It can be made online and remove the stigma associated with being temporarily on welfare – although I am not sure of the wisdom of removing the stigma entirely. It can remove redundant bureaucracy and situations when people need welfare and are denied. You may be employed, but one month may need some extra cash, this is a way to get it. But it also a way to introduce personal responsibility and clear limits on welfare. I would say very few of our leftist brethren would agree…

I would agree to such a proposal (not that anyone in the Imperial City is asking me) on the condition that the new UBI replaced any and all other government payouts with the exception of pensions and veteran’s disability, as those are conditions of employment rather than transfer payments.

But other than those, yes, we replace it all – Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, all of the various welfare and other redistribution schemes.  If you spend your stipend on stupid shit and run it out, that’s on you.  You live with the consequences of your stupidity.

Aw, who am I kidding?  The entire Imperial welfare state has been built so as to shield people from the consequences of their bad decisions.  That’s not going to change.  But it’s sure a fun thought exercise.