What Comes After Social Welfare?
Rethinking the Social Contract in America
Recently, Congress enacted the most significant transfer of wealth from working families to the already wealthy in modern U.S. history. Medicaid eligibility has been reduced, affecting tens of thousands of people. SNAP benefits for women and children have been reduced. Social Security’s solvency now teeters closer to the brink, running out months earlier than projected.
It begs the question: Is this the beginning of the end of the American social contract as we know it?
Many are asking whether a future administration could restore some form of the social safety net. Will they try to patch up what’s left of the old system? Could they? Should they?
The Case for Not Going Back
Let’s be honest: social welfare, as we’ve known it, is an artifact of the last century. Even at its best, it created its own set of challenges, including bureaucracy, stigmatization, and endless partisan wrangling that turned the needs of everyday people into political footballs.
It’s time to ask: What comes after social welfare?
Instead of clinging to outdated programs or relying on a patchwork safety net, what if we synthesized the best new ideas into something more substantial, simpler, and more resilient?
Universal Basic Income: A Foundation, Not a Handout
One of the most straightforward and most direct solutions is a Universal Basic Income (UBI), an unconditional, regular payment made to every citizen. Critics often refer to UBI as a “handout,” drawing on the adage “give a man a fish, teach a man to fish.” But that misses the point.
UBI doesn’t replace the need for skills, education, or initiative. What it offers is a foundation, a floor that makes it possible for people to learn, work, and contribute without the constant stress of bare survival. It’s not about giving out fish; it’s about ensuring everyone has the freedom, time, and security to learn to fish, start a business, care for a family, or weather the storms of a changing economy.
As jobs are automated away and industries transform, UBI serves as a safety net and a launch pad. It fosters resilience and adaptability, enabling individuals to transition, retrain, and reinvent themselves.
Empowering Choice, Cutting Red Tape
Another powerful argument in favor of UBI is the concept of agency. People know their own needs better than any bureaucratic program. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, UBI empowers individuals to make the choices that fit their unique situations, whether that’s paying for rent, food, education, or childcare. Targeted programs inevitably leave gaps, cause delays, and waste resources on administrative overhead. UBI is radically simple: everyone gets the same basic support, reducing bureaucracy, errors, and the indignity of means-testing.
Funding It Fairly: The Prosperity Loop Model
But how do we pay for it? Income taxes alone won’t cut it, and they’re increasingly unpopular. The Prosperity Loop model offers a modern solution:
Build a National Wealth Fund to back the Freedom Dividend (UBI for all)
Fund the Wealth Fund by charging modest fees on pollution and the extraction of common resources: CO₂ emissions, water, land, air, data, and even financial transactions.
These commons fees not only generate sustainable revenue but also encourage businesses to use shared resources wisely. The result? Wealth circulates, the planet is protected, and every American gets a stake in our shared future.
Time for a New Social Contract
If we truly want a society that is fair, resilient, and future-ready, we shouldn’t be trying to resurrect the old welfare state. Instead, it’s time to create a new foundation, a social contract built for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
A Universal Basic Income, funded by a National Wealth Fund and commons fees, isn’t just about survival. It’s about giving everyone the freedom to build, grow, and participate fully in American life.
Let’s move forward, not backward, where prosperity flows, hope grows.