I think that someone at 10K in income would probably get tax money back rather than paying in, which constitutes another entirely different mess we have created (the tax system should not be a welfare program in and of itself). I am not sure a time-based system would work, but there may be ways to implement something like that. A tiered system of some sort I would imagine. Accountability is the greatest need in our current system, I believe. I don't mind helping those who need help, but giving money away is not always the best help. Every situation is different and it is difficult to tailor a state/national program that takes every factor into consideration and applies the program fairly.