Uses the phrase "voracious corporate greed". Yawn. Complains about lack of inflation-based increase in the minimum wage while inflation in below 2%/year. Yuck. Rejecting anti-poor myths is great, but the article propagates a sizable handfull of it's own to replace them, often by assuming that these programs do not come at any sort of societal cost. 27 million people, made up mostly of elderly and disabled Americans, are lifted out of poverty by Social Security. At the same time, Social Security costs Americans roughly 10% of their paycheck. Medicare another 5%. These costs put some number of Americans back into poverty, and push down their ability to improve their lives. This has never been, and will never be, an insignificant cost. Pointing out realities about low rates of drug abuse and welfare fraud matter, but I think it's just as untrue to suggest that the welfare system's only problem is being underfunded and undercut by a money-grubbing caricature of the rich, corporations, and "the system", all of which pay to make those welfare programs possible.
Also strikes me as odd to whine that the EITC, which makes millions of lower-income working americans pay a negative amount in income taxes, is undersized while complaining that the almost non-existent income tax burden on the poor is unfair and the rich are skating by on an unfairly low marginal tax rate of 39%.
Just to rewrite the paragraph that really bothers me in the article with more facts:
[My assertion] is, blue-collar wages in America are simply not high enough to support [the lifestyle I deem adequate] workers in today’s economy. The wages paid by many large employers [and even more prevalently by small employers] are so low that their full-time employees are eligible for [a] welfare [benefit that was always intended to benefit around 30-50% of the population].
You heard that right: People are working full-time to support their families, paying their fair share [which, by measure of fair, is negative] of taxes, but are so underpaid [receiving compensation worth 80-90% of their marginal production] that [receive] government assistance.
Welfare helps, assuming everyone getting EITC will starve without it probably doesn't.
Uses the phrase "voracious corporate greed". Yawn. Complains about lack of inflation-based increase in the minimum wage while inflation in below 2%/year. Yuck. Rejecting anti-poor myths is great, but the article propagates a sizable handfull of it's own to replace them, often by assuming that these programs do not come at any sort of societal cost. 27 million people, made up mostly of elderly and disabled Americans, are lifted out of poverty by Social Security. At the same time, Social Security costs Americans roughly 10% of their paycheck. Medicare another 5%. These costs put some number of Americans back into poverty, and push down their ability to improve their lives. This has never been, and will never be, an insignificant cost. Pointing out realities about low rates of drug abuse and welfare fraud matter, but I think it's just as untrue to suggest that the welfare system's only problem is being underfunded and undercut by a money-grubbing caricature of the rich, corporations, and "the system", all of which pay to make those welfare programs possible.
ReplyDeleteAlso strikes me as odd to whine that the EITC, which makes millions of lower-income working americans pay a negative amount in income taxes, is undersized while complaining that the almost non-existent income tax burden on the poor is unfair and the rich are skating by on an unfairly low marginal tax rate of 39%.
Just to rewrite the paragraph that really bothers me in the article with more facts:
[My assertion] is, blue-collar wages in America are simply not high enough to support [the lifestyle I deem adequate] workers in today’s economy. The wages paid by many large employers [and even more prevalently by small employers] are so low that their full-time employees are eligible for [a] welfare [benefit that was always intended to benefit around 30-50% of the population].
You heard that right: People are working full-time to support their families, paying their fair share [which, by measure of fair, is negative] of taxes, but are so underpaid [receiving compensation worth 80-90% of their marginal production] that [receive] government assistance.
Welfare helps, assuming everyone getting EITC will starve without it probably doesn't.
/endrant