I remember reading a sci-fi story many, many decades ago about a similar theme. I completely forget the title, or the author, it was so long ago, but I remember the theme, since it was so unique. It absolutely challenged all current economic theories at the time. It was written when resources were still considered infinite, and automation and computer control was just being introduced. A utopia that could only have been imagined in the zeitgeist of the 70's and 80's. It was written at a time when human labor costs were considered as the main determinant of economic cost.
EDIT As suggested by @berendi, I think it was The Midas Plague by <PERSON>, written in 1954.
It was a post-scarcity society, with infinite resources, and a perfected agricultural system world-wide. Automated manufacturing was able to produce every imaginable good, at quantities beyond need. Everything, from extraction to processing to production, was automated. Farming was all automated. Extraction and mining were all automated. At no place in the process were humans needed. Since production did not require human intervention, it was completely labor free, and thus had no input labor cost. All management was done by AI. Computers serviced by other computers co-ordinated everything and made all corporate decisions. There were no humans even in upper management. With a limitless surplus of everything, there was no need for any mechanism for rationing goods - the primary purpose for currency. Since there was absolutely no labor, there were no wages paid. No need for any human to work for a living. No need for 'jobs' as we perceive them. Money, in the purest sense, is just a mechanism for balancing supply and demand. If there is infinite supply, that far exceeds demand, then there is no need for 'pricing' to limit demand. Everything was given away for free. (Our modern Western concept equates the purpose for money with the concept of profit, a completely erroneous proposition.)
In fact, there was such a surplus of everything, that in order to keep production going, the population had to CONSUME as much as possible. The class structure was reversed. Since everyone could have as much as they wanted, without limit, the lower in the economic ladder you were, the more you had to consume. The higher up, the less you had to consume. 1006
The top tier 1% had to consume almost nothing.
Money, of course, did not exist in the story. You did not BUY anything, you HAD to take the goods. It was your societal obligation to take them. But if money did exist, the one who died with the least money, won. The consumer would be given a specified income that they HAD to spend, that they had to dispose of. The lower on the scale they were, the more money they got every year. They had to spend this money. If they didn't, they got even more next year. Those who spent all of their money, went up the ladder and they had to spend less the next year. Their 'income' was less. But the catch is, they had to wear out or consume their 'purchases', they could not just hoard them. After all, even though resources were infinite, living space wasn't. The lower on the rung you were, the smaller your living space. They had to demonstrate that the goods they purchased were worn out. Their 'job' was to wear things out. Clothes, appliances, sports equipment, everything. They would have to spend all of their waking hours USING things. Their vacations and 'down time' consisted of periods when they did not have to consume, in which they could just relax and do nothing. I can see how this scenario could possibly be construed as 'negative' money.
But the money still followed the traditional buy-sell model.
To have the money follow the goods, instead of the other way around, then it could be used as a measure of consumption. Everything you consumed, you got a certain amount of money for. The more you consumed, the more money you got. Your 'wealth' would be negative wealth. That is, you were 'paid' to consume. Those who acquired the most money, were the best consumers, and therefore they would go up in economic stature. At the next level up, you had to acquire LESS money, and so on up the ladder. (Or, perhaps, you got MORE money for each item consumed? This might match your scenario better.) At the top of the pyramid, you only had to 'earn' (by consuming) a very small yearly 'income' (or, alternately, you got a huge amount of money for consuming very little). Most of your time would be leisure time, free from the necessity to do your job, to consume.
As I mentioned, it was a unique story line, and it was a concept that was fascinating to explore. 207