Mike Lee's new GOP policy platform isn't crazy, but it's still unhelpful
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  Mike Lee's new GOP policy platform isn't crazy, but it's still unhelpful
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Author Topic: Mike Lee's new GOP policy platform isn't crazy, but it's still unhelpful  (Read 585 times)
Indy Texas
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« on: October 30, 2013, 08:35:38 PM »

It amounts to this:

1. Tax Reform
- Two income tax brackets: 15% (up to $87,850 for singles; $175,700 for married couples) and 35% beyond that.
- Vague suggestion of "eliminating or reforming most deductions"
- Additional $2,500 per child tax credit applied to both income and payroll taxes

Lee deserves a pat on the back for proposing tax reform that is not blatantly revenue-reducing on its face. Marginal rates would increase on low-income earners, while those in the top 39.6% bracket would see a marginal rate cut. But the payroll tax credit for families with children could balance out a plan that would otherwise be regressive in the way the one Mitt Romney campaigned on last year was.

But is it really responsible to starve Social Security and Medicare of revenue via a child tax credit against the taxes that fund it? I'm not a fan of child tax credits to begin with because they incentivize something that is not economically productive (having children), and in doing so deprive us of the opportunity to give tax credits to people doing things that are economically productive, such as starting businesses.

I don't think Mike Lee is intentionally doing this, either, but he may be moving the culture war to the 1040 by more or less ensuring that Americans who have no children do not share in this tax relief. The bottom strata of income taxpayers - those who would have likely been in the 10% marginal bracket but would find their rate raised to 15% under Lee's plan - is heavily comprised of 20-somethings with no children. This is the sort of demographic that goes heavily Democratic - Obama won the "childless vote" by 8 points in 2012, but lost married voters with children by 9 points.

2. Changing labor laws for hourly workers
Lee basically wants to allow companies to give hourly workers unpaid time off in lieu of overtime pay. I'll let him explain it himself:
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Once again, Mr. Lee may mean well but he likely doesn't know very many people who actually do get paid by the hour. If he did, he'd know that overtime pay is something most of them often rely on to get bumped up to an hourly rate that's closer to livable. And while this is presented as offering workers more choices, it conveniently creates a way for businesses to reduce labor costs. It's cheaper to have someone work overtime, "pay them" in unpaid time off and then have a regular shift employee be filling in for them during said time off.

3. Infrastructure Policy
- Cut gasoline tax from 18.4 cents per gallon to 3.7 cents per gallon
- Shift highway planning and maintenance authority from federal to state governments

Here's where Mike Lee starts getting off the rails a bit. I cannot fathom why, at a time when a substantial portion of our roads and bridges are in barely operable condition, he thinks cutting the gasoline tax to a fraction of its previous amount is a good idea.

The old federalist argument, which has a little thing called the Constitution backing it up, is here being replaced by a shakier, misguided belief that state level governments are somehow inherently better and more efficient at doing things than the federal government. Mike Lee claims this is a money-saver; never mind that he's essentially suggesting that we finance our infrastructure with relatively high interest bond issues by state governments rather than let the federal government, which can borrow money for next to nothing, fund it.

Texas's state level gas tax has not been increased once in more than 20 years. And Rick Perry, who is generally wary of such things, encouraged the Legislature to approve new debt issues to finance road projects during this year's session. Why would he do this? Because he knows that the Tea Party-dominated Legislature will not raise taxes on anything ever for any reason. Texas is not alone in this regard.

4. Relaxed accreditation standards for federal financial aid

Lee basically wants to give states the option to offer their own accreditation to colleges and universities that would supplant the federal accreditation. Currently, students attending institutions that aren't DoE accredited cannot access federal financial aid to attend those schools. Under Lee's plan, if they are accredited in the state they are located, those students can access aid.

This is not a solution to a problem. It's not even a solution in search of a problem. It's just a problem waiting to happen. What kind of institutions are unable to get federal accreditation? Diploma mills and the bottom rung of the for-profit education industry, as well as the occasional fundamentalist Christian Bible college. Even the way Lee pitches it sounds like a commercial for Neverest Institute...

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Lief 🗽
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« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2013, 11:42:06 PM »

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This is the stupidest f[inks]ing thing I've ever heard.
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traininthedistance
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« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2013, 11:19:44 AM »

3. Infrastructure Policy
- Cut gasoline tax from 18.4 cents per gallon to 3.7 cents per gallon
- Shift highway planning and maintenance authority from federal to state governments

Here's where Mike Lee starts getting off the rails a bit. I cannot fathom why, at a time when a substantial portion of our roads and bridges are in barely operable condition, he thinks cutting the gasoline tax to a fraction of its previous amount is a good idea.

The old federalist argument, which has a little thing called the Constitution backing it up, is here being replaced by a shakier, misguided belief that state level governments are somehow inherently better and more efficient at doing things than the federal government. Mike Lee claims this is a money-saver; never mind that he's essentially suggesting that we finance our infrastructure with relatively high interest bond issues by state governments rather than let the federal government, which can borrow money for next to nothing, fund it.

Texas's state level gas tax has not been increased once in more than 20 years. And Rick Perry, who is generally wary of such things, encouraged the Legislature to approve new debt issues to finance road projects during this year's session. Why would he do this? Because he knows that the Tea Party-dominated Legislature will not raise taxes on anything ever for any reason. Texas is not alone in this regard.

The fact of the matter is that state DOTs are the single most regressive force in transportation policy today.  Their resonsibilities should be slashed, and given to cities, metro areas, and/or the federal government.  Increasing their power is, if anything, even more backwards than the gas tax cut insanity.
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courts
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« Reply #3 on: October 31, 2013, 02:22:04 PM »

no it pretty much is crazy-stupid just a more subtle form than speaking about how obama is a sekret muslim kenyan nazi communist atheist who believes in the satanic theory of evolution.

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This is the stupidest f[inks]ing thing I've ever heard.
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