Low-Income Families Diving Off the Fiscal Cliff

The two most important pieces of the 2001-2011 tax cuts for low-income families were the reduced refundability threshold of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the 2 percentage point cut in payroll taxes. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) extended the former for 5 years and dropped the latter entirely. This, in sharp [...]

Political Context - The Progressive Mosaic

Owning Is Not More Productive Than Working

We have yet to have an open discussion in America about the preferential tax treatment given to the ownership class. They’re not “job creators”, a meme the 1% is desperately trying to rehabilitate, so we can no longer afford to protect them with the enforced decorum of not asking the obvious questions of fairness.

Political Context - The Progressive Mosaic

Most Republican Tax Plans Eliminate the Thread of Safety Net That’s Left Today

The tax system provides substantial assistance for workers – and, outside of Social Security, provides the largest platform for redistribution we have in the U.S. Although the tax system leaves out huge swaths of people – which I’ll discuss in future posts – for the people it targets money towards, it can do it relatively [...]

Political Context - The Progressive Mosaic

Interview with Darryl W. Perry, Chair, Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party was formed in 2006 by former Libertarian Party members dissatisfied with the LP’s “abdication of political responsibilities.” “Americans deserve and desperately need a pro-freedom party,” the BTP’s founders stated, one “that forcefully advocates libertarian solutions to the issues of today”. Among their objections to the mainstream Libertarian Party was its nomination [...]

Political Context - The Progressive Mosaic

A Crock Pot Tax-Exempt Idea

by Walter Brasch A wall of suffocating heat nearly vaporized me as I walked into Marshbaum’s house. In the kitchen was a portable kiln spewing fiery venom that was curling the linoleum. In the den, wildly pumping a potter’s wheel flinging clay all over the room, was Marshbaum. “Got a new hobby?” I asked from a puddle [...]

Political Context - The Progressive Mosaic

Tax-Deductible Invasions

by Walter Brasch  Millions of Americans gave George W. Bush unquestioned support when he diverted personnel and resources from the war against al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden to invade Iraq. Several million fewer opposed the invasion, stating that the primary mission was to destroy the enemy hiding in Afghanistan that destroyed a part of America and not [...]

Political Context - The Progressive Mosaic

“Today’s deficits do not burden future generations…” Straight talk about government spending with Marshall Auerback

One of the most oft-deployed claims against the Obama administration, and the underlying concepts of social services, government spending, and social responsibility itself, is that deficits kill the economy. In fact, if you listened to deficit hawks from both major parties, as well as libertarian doomsayers, you’d think deficit spending was not just bad, but [...]

Political Context - The Progressive Mosaic