Obama Adds Work Requirement To His “Tax Cut” Plan
I still shudder a bit at calling Obama’s tax plans a “tax cut plan” as I don’t consider higher taxes for people who pay the most taxes and a check in the mail for people who pay nothing or next to nothing in taxes a “tax cut.” But after hearing some of McCain’s criticism about his plan essentially being welfare, Obama’s tweaked it a little bit.
Now, if you want to get that check from the government, you have to be working.
ABC News’ Teddy Davis, Hope Ditto, Arnab Datta, and Ferdous Alfaruque Report:
Facing criticism from John McCain that his tax plan constitutes “welfare,” Barack Obama recently added a work requirement to one of his proposals.
“They started saying this was welfare,” said Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee. “So, just so they would absolutely not be able to say that, we decided that for the last two percent we’ll simply add a work requirement.”
Goolsbee discussed the change to Obama’s universal mortgage credit while debating McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin at the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday.
Video of Goolsbee’s comments available here.
I frankly don’t see how this turns Obama’s plan from a bad idea into a good idea. Narrowing the tax base, and essentially buying votes with IRS checks funded by people who are already paying most of the taxes, is not a good idea. Not only does that punish our most productive and innovative citizens even more than they’re already being punished, it also actively rewards America’s least productive, least productive citizens. Work requirement or not.
This plan stinks. It’s wealth redistribution and it has no place in American politics.
