Policies that make the poor less poor
Not only is means tested a barrier, but it also tends to lead to funding cliffs.<p>My niece wound up being a case in point.  She got a job offer for $0.20&#x2F;hour more than would allow her to stay on food stamps.  As a single mother of 3, she could not afford to go off of food stamps.  The job she would have joined was a union job and so could not pay her anything other than the union rate.  The result?  She remained in a job that she was overqualified for and turned down the better job because she literally could not afford to take it.<p>If you think that this is an argument for basic income, it is.  And exactly because having it be not means tested avoids this kind of perverse incentive that helps trap people in poverty.