Ending the "culture of dependency" and "rewarding a culture of hard work" is one of the proposals in Junts' plan to rebuild the middle class, which it believes is on the verge of disappearing. The party proposed the special plenary session that began this Tuesday, where it outlined a complete overhaul of the current subsidy model, reformulating and significantly limiting the guaranteed minimum income, which was approved in July 2017 by the government led by Carles Puigdemont and Oriol Junqueras. This also indirectly represents an amendment to the Spanish minimum living income model. Junts members demand that a "culture of work" prevail in the definition of public policies and, therefore, call for a "reorganization of the system of aid and subsidies." The way to do this is to directly link the guaranteed minimum income to labor market activation, that is, to job seeking. "Benefits for people capable of working should be temporary and linked to training and effective job placement," they emphasize in their proposals. In this regard, they advocate "strengthening active employment policies connected to the productive sector so that aid becomes an instrument of autonomy and not dependency." Thus, coordination between the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC) and the guaranteed minimum income benefit would become an absolute necessity. This, according to Junts sources, is a "complete change" to move from benefits for barely surviving to a labor-focused approach aimed at guiding people towards "decent work." Junts' idea is that unconditional guaranteed minimum income benefits should be exclusively for people unable to work, such as those with disabilities, while the vast majority should have a work-oriented approach. This proposal is reminiscent of unemployment benefits received when one is entitled to unemployment benefits, although these are the exclusive responsibility of the State.

The worst thing that can happen with public aid is that it doesn't reach the right people and, for those that do, it doesn't have the desired results. The latest evaluation of the Airef on the minimum vital income (IMV) It is published with this double warning: the benefit doesn't reach those who need it most, and when it does, it can have unintended effects. Only half of the families who could receive the IMV receive it, and it reduces the likelihood of those who do. However, this isn't an inevitable failure, but rather an opportunity to rethink the design—and function—of the IMV policy. If we want it to be a useful tool against poverty, it needs to be redefined with greater intelligence and confidence in the public.