[ExI] Usages of the term libertarianism

[BillK]

On Fri, May 20, 2011 at 7:20 PM, Damien Broderick wrote:
> I wasn't talking about legality but morality. Shouldn't Rafal, for example,
> hold this Fick up as a great man doing his small bit for restitution to the
> rich?
>
>

This always happens when a country decides to provide benefits to help
certain classes of people in need.

For example, everyone gets the state pension in the UK when they reach
pension age (gradually increasing at present). Whether they are a
millionaire or not. The pension is taxable as wages, though.

Some benefits, like the winter fuel grant (£250) are tax-free to
everyone over 60. This is intended to stop old folk dying because they
are frightened to switch the heating on because of the cost.

The government has to weigh the grant wastage against the admin costs
of means-testing every single grant to make sure it only goes to those
who need it. The cost of means-testing and checking for false
claimants is horrendous and the government needs to know every detail
of your assets and income. Many people avoid claiming grants because
of this interference in their affairs. Often it is much cheaper and
benefits more people to just issue the grant to everyone.

I believe the government has suggested that millionaires could donate
the grant to charity if they don't need it. I don't recall hearing
about queues of millionaires forming to donate to charity.


BillK