congressman or senate

[tea4me]

Who should I write to to express my disapproval of the Earned Income Tax Credit?
Do I write to the congressman or the senator? Or both?

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

I would write to both. You can go to their web sites and send them a message.

[Deleted]

Feb 9, 2011 11:04:35 GMT -5 @tea4me said:

Who should I write to to express my disapproval of the Earned Income Tax Credit?
Do I write to the congressman or the senator? Or both?

both

[Gardening Grandma]

When I want to express my views, I write to my Congressperson and BOTH Senators.

[stats45]

The EITC has strong bipartisan support. Ford and Carter developed the program, and every president since increased benefits for the EITC or expanded eligibility. Reagan may have expanded the program the most and made the credit automatically increase with inflation in legislation passed in the late 1980's.

Just something to keep in mind when writing your Congresspersons. It is not a program that usually comes under attack.

[Gardening Grandma]

Feb 9, 2011 11:31:45 GMT -5 stats45 said:

The EITC has strong bipartisan support. Ford and Carter developed the program, and every president since increased benefits for the EITC or expanded eligibility. Reagan may have expanded the program the most and made the credit automatically increase with inflation in legislation passed in the late 1980's.

Just something to keep in mind when writing your Congresspersons. It is not a program that usually comes under attack.

<karma> for that post

[stats45]

Thanks gardening!

I read a book on poverty programs as an undergraduate that was fascinating. I didn't know about all of the anti-poverty proposals at the time. Not many people know that a negative income tax came pretty close to being passed in the Nixon administration. Even though the 1970's were after the 'War on Poverty' Era, there was still a lot of economic policy passed in that decade.

[phil5185]

I think that Dr Milton Friedman mentioned the concept in his famous 'Free to Choose' - many of his concepts have made it into our tax code over the past few decades.

[tea4me]

I feel with Earned Income Tax Credit, people that have been irresponsible and made poor choices end up with the same income as me. They are receiving the income taxes I pay.

[stats45]

'Free to Choose' is a very good book. Friedman was a talented economist and a great communicator.

He supported the negative income tax over other types of poverty reduction programs. He believed that cash payments rather than services provided helped to create the best outcomes. When services are being provided for people, they cannot use money to promote competition for their dollars.

Even though he was a strong and consistent libertarian, he recognized that public policy was about making better and worse choices. You might not get everything you want and there will probably always be some anti-poverty programs, but there is a huge difference between programs.

I don't think he would have liked how the EITC has turned into another child credit in some ways, but I think he would probably support the program much more than Medicaid for example.

[tea4me]

Feb 9, 2011 12:12:43 GMT -5 stats45 said:

'Free to Choose' is a very good book. Friedman was a talented economist and a great communicator.

He supported the negative income tax over other types of poverty reduction programs. He believed that cash payments rather than services provided helped to create the best outcomes. When services are being provided for people, they cannot use money to promote competition for their dollars.

Even though he was a strong and consistent libertarian, he recognized that public policy was about making better and worse choices. You might not get everything you want and there will probably always be some anti-poverty programs, but there is a huge difference between programs.

I don't think he would have liked how the EITC has turned into another child credit in some ways, but I think he would probably support the program much more than Medicaid for example.

I just ordered the book. Hopefully it will change my outlook.

[hoops902]

Feb 9, 2011 12:12:43 GMT -5 stats45 said:

'Free to Choose' is a very good book. Friedman was a talented economist and a great communicator.

He supported the negative income tax over other types of poverty reduction programs. He believed that cash payments rather than services provided helped to create the best outcomes. When services are being provided for people, they cannot use money to promote competition for their dollars.

While I agree with the bold statement, it also points out the potential problem. We should not necessarily want competition for people's dollars when those dollars are given for specific reasons. Think of the potential issues if instead of giving people Medicaid, we gave them cash and allowed them to spend money on anything they wanted rather than healthcare for their children. It absolutely helps promote competition for their dollars, in many cases though, as a society we don't really want things competing for someone's dollars when those dollars are given by society/government for a specific purpose.

At a minimum, vouchers (like food stamps) help to direct funds to a specific purpose while still allowing certain economic entities to compete for those voucher dollars. That's a far cry from simply handing out bags full of cash though.

[DVM gone riding]

Yeah if I am going to do the work of writing might as well get the use out of it. Your congressman-for your district. And BOTH senators for your state. Also if you feel comfortable you can get some other voters to sign on!!

[Regis]

For several years I have worked with a lobbyist for a state society. One thing I can tell you is that all of these legislators are wired all the time to their smartphones. Email is currently the most effective way to get their attention.