Category: Inequality

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Make a PA Earned Income Tax Credit Part of the Budget

  By Inequality, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania State Taxes, Taxation

To: Members and staff of the General Assembly, editorial board members, and political writers From: Marc Stier, Director and Diana Polson, Senior Policy Analyst, PA Budget and Policy Center Re: Tax Relief for Working Poor Pennsylvanians in the Next Budget Date: June 29, 2022 Some discussions about providing tax relief for low-income working Pennsylvanians appear to be a part of the current budget negotiations. We want to strongly encourage the General Assembly to take such action by instituting a state version of the federal earned income tax credit. This is especially imperative if the General Assembly is likely to cut corporate tax cuts now. If there are funds to cut taxes for many of the richest Pennsylvanians, there should be funds to cut taxes for low-income working Pennsylvanians. As we have extensively demonstrated, the PA tax system is unfair, with low-income families paying state and local taxes at twice the… Continue reading

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M4A and the Future of American Politics

  By Health Care, Inequality, Politics, Public Policy, US

Elizabeth Warren’s campaign may be over soon. But before she disappears, let’s learn from what may have doomed her campaign, her stance on health care. Some of my friends who know that I’m a latecomer to Medicare for All might be surprised I’m enthusiastic about it now. And those who believe some of the silly stuff Sanders’s supporters said about Warren’s version of M4A, will be outraged that I think Warren has something to offer on this subject. Going really bold and then pulling it back was not smart politics by any means. Warren pulled off a political self-hat trick. First, she offered a bold M4A plan that scared the centrists. Then she offered an interim health care plan that the left felt was a betrayal. And, ultimately, she made everyone wonder if she knew what she was doing. But for reasons I’m going to explain, both her ultimate goal… Continue reading

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It’s Labor Day Weekend: Let’s Talk About Unrigging The Economy for Workers

  By Inequality, Labor, Politics, Public Policy

During the Labor Day holiday when we celebrate working men and women — and at a time when we are entering a critical election season — let’s stop and ask how we can give those working Americans what they most want and need: higher wages and better jobs in a growing economy. That is a question for which there are two starkly different answers. Since the dawn of the Reagan era, right-wingers have claimed that cutting taxes on corporations and the rich will spur economic growth and raise wages. That theory is embodied in the tax cuts Trump and Congressional Republicans enacted this year. The corporate tax rate was slashed from 35% to 21%. Income tax cuts were heavily weighted to the to the top 5%, who receive half of the tax reduction, and the top 1%, who receive over 25%. What has been the consequence for working people? Only 4.3% of… Continue reading

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The Rich Get Richer: Why the Senate Tax Bill Is a Total Sham

  By Budget analysis, Federal Taxes, Inequality, PA Budget and Policy Center, Taxation

The Senate Republican tax plan would provide enormous, permanent tax cuts to high-income households and corporations – all while adding at least $1.5 trillion to the deficit. And to pay for its permanent tax cuts for corporations, the bill would raise taxes on many middle-income families and repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, increasing the number of uninsured Pennsylvanians by 505,000 and raising individual market premiums nationwide by 10 percent. Congressional Republicans’ skewed and fiscally irresponsible tax plan would raise taxes on many middle-income families and drive up health insurance premiums to pay for permanent corporate tax cuts. The tax plan would fail Pennsylvania’s families and economy. The House passed its bill on November 16. Senate Republicans are moving quickly to ram through their tax bill the week after Thanksgiving and work with the House to send a final bill to President Trump by the end of the year.… Continue reading