The Gipper giveth, state GOP taketh away - Jack Lessenberry
The Gipper giveth, state GOP taketh away
Republicans find a tax break they don't like. It happens to help the poor.
By Jack Lessenberry
PUBLISHED: MAY 23, 2012
Once upon a time, there was a president of the United States who enthusiastically supported giving the working poor a break on their income taxes. The program, called the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, "is the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family program ever to come out of Congress." He vastly increased it.
Soon, seeing how well it worked, a number of states, including Michigan, did the same. In our state's case, the most a family with three kids could make last year to get the credit was $49,077.
This money — totaling $344 million in 2009 — was not parked in banks in the Cayman Islands, Mitt Romney-style. Instead, pretty much all of it was immediately spent in the local economy.
Then last year, Gov. Rick Snyder took office and right-wing Tea Party types took over both houses of the Michigan Legislature. They very nearly eliminated the entire Earned Income Tax Credit.
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http://metrotimes.com/columns/the-gipper-giveth-state-gop-taketh-away-1.1319158
