#### Overview: - A universal, individual-based cash payment system designed to offset the burden of a national sales/use tax. - This system serves as a tax prebate, ensures basic needs are untaxed, and lays the foundation for a simple, scalable Universal Basic Income (UBI). #### Core Principles: - Universal: Every U.S. citizen receives it, no income test. - Individualized: Payments go to individuals; dependents' payments default split between legal guardians. - Automatic: Enrollment at birth, managed via SSN or federal ID. - Cash-Based: No restrictions on use. True autonomy. - Offset Use Tax: Designed to neutralize regressive impact of federal consumption taxes. #### Funding Mechanism: - Funded by a national federal sales/use tax applied equally across all goods and services without exemptions - This approach simplifies administration, avoids lobbying distortions, encourages market adaptation, and ensures transparent, broad-based revenue collection. - Individuals and businesses both contribute. #### Administrative Design: - Managed federally, but open-source tech infrastructure can be adopted by states, counties, or localities. - Individuals auto-enrolled at birth or naturalization. - Dependent status adjustable online to account for life events (death, emancipation, abandonment). - System interfaces with IRS and SSA but avoids intrusive income tracking. #### Payment Calculation: - Based on poverty-level spending estimates. - Prebate equals estimated tax on spending up to the federal poverty line: - Individual = ~$15k/year → Prebate = $3,450/year ($288/month) - 4-person household = ~$31k/year → Prebate = $7,176/year ($598/month split across recipients) #### Why Not Means-Test? - Simplicity: No application, no paperwork, no bureaucracy. - Security: Less audit risk. Avoids overreach. - Dignity: No stigma or gatekeeping. Everyone receives the same base benefit. - Efficiency: Faster deployment, easier to administer, scalable across agencies. #### Scalability & Future Potential: - Acts as a blueprint for future UBI. - Can be scaled beyond the poverty line for broader economic security. - Potential to become a modular cash layer for Social Security, state-level supplements, or crisis-response funding. #### Implementation Plan: - Immediate full rollout (no phased implementation). - Public education campaign to build understanding and trust. - Federal tech platform with state/local API access. #### Political Framing: - Left: Uplifts working families, builds economic floor. - Right: Offsets tax burden, reduces bureaucracy, no aid to undocumented individuals. - Universal framing: Freedom-focused, transparent, efficient, and fair. #### Tagline: "Freedom to thrive. Power to choose. Tax fairness for all."