> From: Doug Henwood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [PEN-L:11455] Re: Child tax credit > C'mon Max, didn't you read the DLC welfare literature? Time limits are the No because it is nothing but glosses of the tough guys (e.g., James Q. Wilson, Lawrence Mead) who are worth reading if not supporting. > stick, and the EITC was the stick. And you're not going to deny that the Calling a wage supplement a "stick" is bewildering. I guess that mandatory health insurance would be a club, and higher wages the kiss of death. > EITC is a public subsidy to low-wage employment, or more accurately, > low-wage employers. I won't deny that like a tax (but in reverse), part of the EITC is shifted to employers, but I will deny that none of it is received by workers. Beyond that you're into arguments about elasticities. Your point about policies towards the low-wage sector can get dicey. I hear the same thing at EPI. The problem is that we know very well how to destroy jobs by regulating and taxing them to perdition, but it is not so easy to create the jobs we would like to see, so I am leery of experiments in job creation that begin with job destruction. If we had a better safety net it would be as much of a concern, but we don't, as you know. > >"People say I'm arrogant, but I know better." > > -- John Sununu > > Are you making fun of Sununu, or adopting this as your motto? Both, albeit temporarily. Cheers, MBS ================================================== Max B. Sawicky Economic Policy Institute [EMAIL PROTECTED] Suite 1200 202-775-8810 (voice) 1660 L Street, NW 202-775-0819 (fax) Washington, DC 20036 Opinions here do not necessarily represent the views of anyone associated with the Economic Policy Institute. ===================================================
