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Notes -
I've been circling this idea of a "government bank account", for allocating resources to government services in an equitable way.
The idea goes, just because services are government-administered doesn't mean they aren't subject to scarcity. And the disconnect between user and payer means that people use services with no regard to cost, and providers operate with no regard to quality. If only we could subject this to market dynamics!
The libertarian runs with this and says that all services should be paid for in cash (and removed from the aegis of the government, for good measure). But then people are shut out of public life, compounding inequality and misery over generational time scales.
If we're not going to entirely jettison the idea of a welfare state (which I would rather not; alle Menschen werden Brüdern and what not), then I would suggest a second currency, one which accrues regardless of work or merit, and which legally cannot be traded away.
This puts to the people some interesting questions. Would you rather go to work via the toll road, or heat your home hotter? Would you rather cash a welfare check, or receive end-of-life care?^1
The parallels to the Chinese social credit system are elucidating: whereas they've turned their whole society into a prolonged exam (they love taking exams), I'm proposing an exercise in private property x inalienable rights.
This also opens up more palatable avenues wrt congestion pricing, private/public competition, etc. Probably does interesting things to the meta of democracy but I haven't thought that part through.
^1 Yes, we Québécois receive electricity and healthcare as government services. To be frank, I don't know why you'd do it any other way.
How different is this from just giving them money? (maybe while subsidizing some goods)
If you just give them money, some significant portion of the population will spend it on a new plasma TV instead of holding on to it to pay for government services when they need it. If you give them an EBT card that can't be used for a plasma TV, they're more likely to remember the card when it comes time to "buy" government services.
Right, but they'll also, sometimes at least, figure out the best ways to convert the EBT card into a plasma TV, through some other good along the way. At least, I would imagine? A simple example is using government electricity to do things you can get money from (bitcoin mining??), but I'm sure there are all sorts of other things you do, if you wanted to be irresponsible with the money.
You're right that some percentage will absolutely figure out how to game the system. We already know this because people have been buying (or stealing) laundry detergent and soda and converting that to drugs. See, e.g., https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/the-tide-theft-phenomenon-why-has-the-laundry-detergent-become-such-a-hot-commodity-among-thieves-at-drugstores/
However, this requires more effort than trading cash for drugs/plasma TVs. That additional step reduces misuse of the government handout. Of course, the question then becomes whether that reduction is enough to offset the costs of the EBT program plus any unintended consequences. But at a first pass, it's reasonable to expect that a restricted debit card is going to be more effective than straight cash.
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