As a tax preparer and a liberal I have always looked at the Earned Income Credit as

[WCGreen]

one of the best ideas to, as my grandmother use to say, come down the pike.

It rewards the worker with money from the government. It can be taken on a paycheck by paycheck basis or be returned in a lump sum in the form of a large refund. A lot of my clients depend on this as a "forced" saving plan that allows them to plan for a new refrigerator, or a new car or to take a much deserved vacation.

It helps the over all economy because it puts more money in the hands of people who will, 9 times out of 10, spend that money and so goose the economy a little bit.

It also helps the small business owner who can hire extra help and pay them what he can afford knowing that the EITC is there to subsidize the salary or wage.

All in all this has been one of the most successful example of government "interfering" in the market place...

The reason I bring this up is to show you that republicans were once willing to do something that was good for more than the people at the top. First, it was enacted in the Nixon/Ford administration and was revamped in the 1986 revamping of the tax code done by the Reagan Administration.

Of course that was when Republicans and Democrats could work together.

If the same crew that is in the House now was in the house back in '75, the EITC would never even make it to the floor for a vote.

This is a good example of how radical this crowd really is.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. This is a good way to see the Earned Income Credit.

I appreciate the history lesson...It's really helpful to see how the atmosphere has changed in DC.

[hedgehog]

2. I've always been ambivalent. It really helps hard working people who need it,

but I have to wonder how much it's subsidizing employers who could afford to pay a decent wage. Even if the employer can't afford to pay the worker better, either the employer is an incompetent business person or the customers are being subsidized. Food stamps for working people fall into the same category. They keep families from going hungry, but are really subsidizing the 1%!

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

4. It definitely subsidizes low-wage employers

I've often wondered if we should demand a living wage, then tell employers that we'll take the tax dollars that supported EIC and dramatically cut their employment taxes to offset the higher cost of wages.

That might be a really stupid idea, but I'm not enough of an economist to know.

[WCGreen]

6. I know that is a concern...

But a lot of the people I've done taxes for a lot of small business that couldn't afford to pay anything more than 8 or 9 bucks an hour....

I think it helps more people than it harms....

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

7. Part of the "I'm not enough of an economist" thingie...

It could be huge problem, particularly for small businesses.

[kestrel91316]

3. The EIC even helps me so I don't have to cough up money for taxes in a bad year,

and we've had a few of those lately. Same with the Make Work Pay credit which has now been killed.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. I remember reports about brainstorming sessions in...

the Reagan White house and when Reagan heard about the EIC he jumped up and down loving it-- solved economic and political problems all around.

I'd never want to go back to the Reagan years, but Reagan, like (gasp!) Nixon, was old school and really wanted to see problems solved. The political rhetoric was a game, but behind the scenes they worked it out as well as they could. Nixon had those "other" problems that negated his legacy of the EPA and voting rights but they both came from the "can do" school of politics.

This shit going on now is just mean-spirited pure power grab and could destroy us all. Even the crookedest of the old machine bosses knew you don't dare destroy the system that pays your bills.