Fund the wishes — reverse taxation & patronage for the art
From Make America Dream Again — the ethos under the house. One human's voice. No lying.
We keep telling the broke and the sick the same lie: just work more. As if a fourth job fixes a floor somebody else rigged. So stop demanding people earn the right to exist, and fund the wishes another way.
Reverse taxation. It has a name and a pedigree. Milton Friedman, no socialist, called it the negative income tax: below a certain line, the money flows to you, automatically, no caseworker, no hoops. We already run a timid version — the Earned Income Tax Credit. Make it real, make it a floor nobody falls through. And philanthropy — the art edition. In the Depression, the WPA paid artists, writers, and musicians to make things, and a broke country got murals, plays, and a whole generation's voice out of it. Pay the artist so the kid with something to say can eat while they say it. Because nobody should have to earn the right to live, or to create. Dignity is the floor, not the trophy. Fund the wishes.
If the sentence ever feels like it wants to end — in the US, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), any hour; or find help anywhere at findahelpline.com. You are not alone, and the story isn’t over.