Congressman Ro Khanna has adopted the idea of expanding the size of the Earned Income Tax Credit recently and attracted some media attention as a result (Lowrey at Atlantic; Ferenstein at Quartz and at Medium). The idea comes from a Neil Irwin piece at the New York Times, which the CBPP and Tax Policy Center… Continue reading The Oddities of the EITC and Why We Should Think Twice About Its Further Expansion
James Baldwin on the Immiseration of Inequality
If you talk about inequality and poverty in the US for long enough, conservatives and even liberals of a certain recent vintage will invariably raise the point that bottom incomes in the US are higher than many incomes elsewhere in the world. Sure, they say, it may not be that those on the bottom of… Continue reading James Baldwin on the Immiseration of Inequality
Take Other Kids to Work Day Highlights the Absurdity of Social Mobility
Richard Reeves of Brookings has a piece in Quartz where he argues that, for social mobility sake, people should not take their own kid to work. Instead, Reeves explains, they should take a kid from a different social class. This week, parents are being urged to take their kids to work for the day. But… Continue reading Take Other Kids to Work Day Highlights the Absurdity of Social Mobility
Tax Day and the Rich
On Tax Day in America, we all recognize two important traditions. First, like all days, we salute the troops for making Tax Day possible. Second, we rehash stuff that has been beaten into the ground so much that you want to die reading about it. This year, the latter tradition is being carried on by… Continue reading Tax Day and the Rich
Asian Poverty Varies a Lot by Group
Andrew Sullivan has a post where he argues that the economic success of Asians in the United States suggests that the lack of success of other groups cannot be chalked up to racism. One response to this kind of argument is that, as a historical matter, anti-Asian racism did hold Asians back and Asians only… Continue reading Asian Poverty Varies a Lot by Group