The idea of some Universal Basic Income has been around for a long time. Here is Milton Friedman on his proposal of a Negative Income Tax. There will always be welfare for there are people who cannot work for some disability and others who prefer not to work and game the system. Even programs where the state directly pays for the food rather than food stamps or restricts the food stamps to certain products, the ingenuity of some people cannot be underestimated. They will sell the products they get for cash. There are signs on the streets buying needles and strips from people who are diabetic and get them for free from the state. There are instances where a woman has a child and tells the state she has no idea who the father is yet a night he shows up and leaves when a case worker is due to arrive. These are abuses of the system that no matter what we try to do, there will be people who figure out how to work the system. So there will NEVER be 100% compliance no matter what system we devise.
