Monday, April 19, 2004
"When It Comes To Redistributing Income, MaxSpeak Doesn't Just Talk The Talk"
Why we love Max.
Not only because he's always smart and often wise, not only because his snarkiest shots zing with wit, not only because he makes us laugh out loud.
Because of stuff like this.
You can find out what two mistakes Max made, and whose tax returns he helped with, why he disagrees with Nathan Newman about Kerry's proposed tax credit, and just in case you were in any doubt that what the rightwing has in mind for the working poor has nothing to do with improving their chances to lead a minimally decent life, he'll clue you in smartly.
Gotta love the guy.
Go and find out what the unfairness might provoke Max to do, and check out anything you've not yet read while you're there; it's all worth the time.
Not only because he's always smart and often wise, not only because his snarkiest shots zing with wit, not only because he makes us laugh out loud.
Because of stuff like this.
I rarely do any volunteering. I made an exception this year and participated in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. This amounted to a day and a half of training, and four weekend afternoons of actually preparing taxes for low-income people.
The all-day training was at Georgetown University Law Center. It was a seminar with about 200 attendees. In the afternoon, we were given a sample tax return to prepare. The audience consisted of grad students in law, accounting, retired people, and an assortment of professional types. Not one person did the problem correctly. Not. One.
You can find out what two mistakes Max made, and whose tax returns he helped with, why he disagrees with Nathan Newman about Kerry's proposed tax credit, and just in case you were in any doubt that what the rightwing has in mind for the working poor has nothing to do with improving their chances to lead a minimally decent life, he'll clue you in smartly.
It happens that the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a benefit for families with children. Since the EITC is refundable and it's for poor people (those who work, by the way), it raises conservative hackles. So Congress tasks the IRS and GAO to do special studies and scrutiny on EITC people and lo and behold, they have a high "non-compliance" rate. Compared to what, you might ask? Compared to nothing, since comparable data on other tax provisions (offshore accounts, fer instance) are either non-existent or not elevated to the same plain (plane? I said I was busy.) of attention. There is no parallel bureaucratic enforcement and punishment juggarnaut bearing down on people who screw up their claims for exemptions or the Child Tax Credit.
Gotta love the guy.
Go and find out what the unfairness might provoke Max to do, and check out anything you've not yet read while you're there; it's all worth the time.
