--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Transfer payments discourage the…" description: "\"Transfer payments discourage the recipients from earning income in the present and from investing in their potential to earn income in the future. Peop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/robert-higgs-12637_cost_transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipie_2884150.jpg" --- # Transfer payments discourage the recipients from earning… ![“Transfer payments discourage the recipients from earning income in the present and from investing in their potential to earn income in the future. People respond to a reduced cost of idleness by choosing to be idle more often.” quote by Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/robert-higgs-12637_cost_transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipie_2884150.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/robert-higgs-12637_cost_transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipie_2884150.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/robert-higgs-12637_cost_transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipie_2884150.jpg) > “Transfer payments discourage the recipients from earning income in the present and from investing in their potential to earn income in the future. People respond to a reduced cost of idleness by choosing to be idle more often.” [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Transfer payments may reduce recipients’ incentive to work or invest, leading to increased idleness. **In simple terms:** Aid can discourage work. Key Takeaway Design incentives that promote productivity. Themes economics welfare incentives Mood critical analytical Type economics policy When to use this quote - social safety nets - employment programs - tax policy - economic modeling Key Concepts public policy behavioral economics Questions to Reflect On - How to balance aid with work incentives? - What alternatives reduce idleness? A Different Perspective May overlook benefits of social safety nets. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Idleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness/) [Income](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Payment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/payment/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Do you earn income as a model? Maybe I do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lewis/do-you-earn-income-as-a-model-maybe-i-do/) [Blake Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lewis/) > [I don't think you have to earn your income as an artist to be an artist. But if you are an artist, then art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/i-don-t-think-you-have-to-earn-your-income-as-an-artist-to-be-an/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [I don't think most people understand that when I wasn't running for president, I was working. Because I have to earn income. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/i-don-t-think-most-people-understand-that-when-i-wasn-t-running-for/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [“No one is looking out for your career anymore. You must find meaning, locate opportunities, sell yourself, and plan for failure, calamity, and unexpected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-slim/no-one-is-looking-out-for-your-career-anymore-you-must-find-meaning/) [Pamela Slim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-slim/) > [We do not go to work only to earn an income, but to find meaning in our lives. What we do is a large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ryan/we-do-not-go-to-work-only-to-earn-an-income-but-to-find-meaning-in/) [Alan Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ryan/) > [It should feel genuinely good to earn income from your blog - you should be driven by a healthy ambition to succeed. If your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-pavlina/it-should-feel-genuinely-good-to-earn-income-from-your-blog-you/) [Steve Pavlina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-pavlina/) > [Realize that you earn income by providing value - not time - so find a way to provide your best value to others, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-pavlina/realize-that-you-earn-income-by-providing-value-not-time-so-find-a/) [Steve Pavlina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-pavlina/) > [Ironically, in the full-fledged transfer society, where governments busy themselves redistributing income by means of hundreds of distinct programs, hardly anyone is better off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/ironically-in-the-full-fledged-transfer-society-where-governments/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [In the transfer society, the general public is not only poorer but also less contented, less autonomous, more rancorous, and more politicized. Individuals take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/in-the-transfer-society-the-general-public-is-not-only-poorer-but/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Recipients of transfers tend to become less self-reliant and more dependent on government payments. When people can get support without exercising their own abilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/recipients-of-transfers-tend-to-become-less-self-reliant-and-more/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Government spending either is completely wasteful, merely transfers income, purchases an intermediate rather than a final good, or purchases valuable final services whose value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/government-spending-either-is-completely-wasteful-merely-transfers/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Notwithstanding what some regard as the institutionalization of compassion, the transfer society quashes genuine virtue. Redistribution of income by means of government coercion is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/notwithstanding-what-some-regard-as-the-institutionalization-of/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Recipients of transfers set a bad example for others, including their children, other relatives, and friends, who see that one can receive goods, services,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/recipients-of-transfers-set-a-bad-example-for-others-including-their/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [At Calvary, there was a great healing transfer where the responsibility for healing was switched from God giving it, to you receiving it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-parsley/at-calvary-there-was-a-great-healing-transfer-where-the/) [Rod Parsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-parsley/) > [The governments are seen to be less effective than they used to be. The private sector is perceived as being so much more efficient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-robinson/the-governments-are-seen-to-be-less-effective-than-they-used-to-be/) [Mary Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-robinson/) ## More by Robert Higgs > [Recipients of transfers set a bad example for others, including their children, other relatives, and friends, who see that one can receive goods, services,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/recipients-of-transfers-set-a-bad-example-for-others-including-their/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [In debates between anarchists and statists, the burden of proof clearly should rest on those who place their trust in the state. Anarchy's mayhem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/in-debates-between-anarchists-and-statists-the-burden-of-proof/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [“Anarchists did not try to carry out genocide against the Armenians in Turkey; they did not deliberately starve millions of Ukrainians; they did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/anarchists-did-not-try-to-carry-out-genocide-against-the-armenians-in/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [We need to have a modicum of faith in people's common sense, creativity and will to survive and prosper even in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/we-need-to-have-a-modicum-of-faith-in-people-s-common-sense/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [To continue on the road we Americans have traveled for the past century is ultimately to deliver ourselves completely into the hands of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/to-continue-on-the-road-we-americans-have-traveled-for-the-past/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Inflation is not a benign element in the economy's operation. It is, as it has always been, the most dangerous and destructive form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/inflation-is-not-a-benign-element-in-the-economy-s-operation-it-is-as/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Until the 1930s, the Constitution served as a major constraint on federal economic interventionism. The government's powers were understood to be just as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/until-the-1930s-the-constitution-served-as-a-major-constraint-on/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [No doubt, anarchy, once established, might not last forever. But if your house is on fire, the sensible course of action is to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/no-doubt-anarchy-once-established-might-not-last-forever-but-if-your/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [By adopting programs to distribute substantial amounts of income, a nation guarantees that its government will become more powerful and invasive in other ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/by-adopting-programs-to-distribute-substantial-amounts-of-income-a/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [All nonstate threats to life, liberty, and property appear to be relatively petty and therefore can be dealt with. Only states can pose truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/all-nonstate-threats-to-life-liberty-and-property-appear-to-be/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [This is the true lesson of our history: war, preparation for war, and foreign military interventions have served for the most part not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/this-is-the-true-lesson-of-our-history-war-preparation-for-war-and/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Liberty in the United States will never be reestablished so long as elites and masses alike look to the president to perform supernatural feats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/liberty-in-the-united-states-will-never-be-reestablished-so-long-as/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [The beginning of political wisdom is the realization that despite everything you’ve always been taught, the government is not really on your side; indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-beginning-of-political-wisdom-is-the-realization-that-despite/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [“When the contentious questions are mainly economic (put aside such inflammatory but mainly noneconomic matters as capital punishment or abortion) they tend to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/when-the-contentious-questions-are-mainly-economic-put-aside-such/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [For members of the political class, the crucial question is always: how can we push out the frontier, how can we augment the government's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/for-members-of-the-political-class-the-crucial-question-is-always-how/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Explore all 54 Robert Higgs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) ## More Cost quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [ \[Photography is \] likewise even French impressionists. So the Sculls bought pop. It was politics, and they moved with it. And I think that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/photography-is-likewise-even-french-impressionists-so-the-sculls/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) Robbin Crosby > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I believe that government is too large, costs too much, spends too much, and has too much regulatory power in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walberg/i-believe-that-government-is-too-large-costs-too-much-spends-too-much/) [Tim Walberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walberg/) > [One reason for the tremendous increase in health-care costs in the U.S. is managerial neglect of the "hotel services" by the people who dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-reason-for-the-tremendous-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-the-u/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [They brought on someone who cost more than our stadium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-rodgers/they-brought-on-someone-who-cost-more-than-our-stadium/) [Brendan Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-rodgers/) > [When the government pays, health care's lack of affordability becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In health care, as in other things, government is the high-cost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-kling/when-the-government-pays-health-care-s-lack-of-affordability-becomes/) [Arnold Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-kling/) > [“In your goals to go the extra mile, prepare to pay an extra cost. Excellence is to be exceptional, surpassing, more competent and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/in-your-goals-to-go-the-extra-mile-prepare-to-pay-an-extra-cost/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The term 'cost shifting,' as I use it, refers to those items in a university's budget that used to be reimbursed by the federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-term-cost-shifting-as-i-use-it-refers-to-those-items-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Beauty's a doubtful good, a glass, a flower, Lost, faded, broken, dead within an hour; And beauty, blemish'd once, for ever's lost, In spite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/beauty-s-a-doubtful-good-a-glass-a-flower-lost-faded-broken-dead/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) Browse all 3,987 Cost quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Transfer payments discourage the recipients from earning income in the present and from investing in their potential to earn income in the future. People respond to a reduced cost of idleness by choosing to be idle more often.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Higgs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipients-from-earning-income-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cost" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipients-from-earning-income-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/robert-higgs-12637_cost_transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipie_2884150.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/robert-higgs-12637_cost_transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipie_2884150.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/robert-higgs-12637_cost_transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipie_2884150.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Transfer payments discourage the recipients from earning income in the present and from investing in their…” — Robert Higgs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Higgs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Transfer payments discourage the recipients from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipients-from-earning-income-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/transfer-payments-discourage-the-recipients-from-earning-income-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```