Meagan Day had a recent piece in Jacobin rehashing the general problems with means-tested benefits alongside a discussion of an emergency universal food stamp program implemented in New York City.

Day makes two main arguments in her piece, first that means-tested programs are vulnerable to cuts, and second that the bureaucratic hurdle of applying for them ends up excluding many eligible people.

In a piece on his own site, Max Sawicky criticized Day’s article and offered an argument in favor of means-testing, namely that it provides more assistance for less money. Sawicky’s criticism and his own argument are incorrect.