Two different perspectives on the negative income tax, a less bureaucratic substitute for the Earned Income Tax Credit.  Guy Sorman is for, Jim Manzi is against.  I’m not sure where I stand.  (Don’t you welcome a little ambiguity for a change from the arrogant Blue Kennel?)

Actually, one of the persons who first proposed a negative income tax was none other than Milton Friedman, who was not as Randist as is often thought.  I, for one, in theory believe that welfare (including Medicare and Social Security) is the province of the church and the family; in practice, I think a government role is inescapable, but the church and the family should not be elbowed out of the way or have an excuse to shrug their shoulders and abandon welfare to the state.

Related: “Why Not a Negative Income Tax” by Guy Sorman at City Journal

Also Related: “Against the Negative Income Tax” by Jim Manzi at National Review Online