The Earned Income Tax Credit was implemented by Republicans. They proposed it, they structured it. And in the case of the EITC, how it phases in and phases out, it is not punishment for succeeding, it is punishment for even trying to succeed. How dare people making less than 150% of the poverty level even attempt to climb the social ladder. Slap them with a 75% marginal tax rate for being so audacious.
The Republican party's primary operating objective comes from Proverbs. The wealth of the rich is their fortress, the poverty of the poor their calamity. The Republicans consistently strive to fortify the fortress, and increase the calamity, and the EITC's structure is the most vivid case in point. But the very structure of the tax code, capital gains taxed at a lower rate than earned income, Trump's pass through deduction, the corporate tax cut, legalizing stock buybacks, and as I mentioned, the regressive nature of state taxes--all of them are only faintly veiled efforts at keeping the poor in poverty and the wealthy rich.
They have been wildly successful as indicated by this little tidbit. A student from a family in the highest income quintile, and the lowest standardized score quintile, has a greater chance of completing his college education than a student in the lowest quintile of earnings but in the highest quintile of standardized test scores. Let me put that in perspective. Johnny's parents own several car dealerships, but he is dumber than a box of rocks. His grades are lackluster at best and he spends most his time partying and goofing off with his friends. He plays video games, rarely does his homework, and his proud of his nice car and nice clothes that he leverages to gain friends and have influence among his peers. He will go on to graduate from college, albeit with a less than 2.0 gpa, and get a decent job working for a car parts distributor. Sammy was born in poverty. Wears hand me down clothes, doesn't even have a car, but he makes straight A's, reads profusely, and killed his SAT. He works a part time job at a local grocery store and is a good employee. He gets a scholarship to a state university, but without a family to help support him, he drops out, on the Dean's list, because of financial difficulties at home.
Look, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the above scenario is devastating to the frontier curve for this country. The above would not happen in India or China. Until we toss the Republican party onto the scrap heap of history, along with the Whigs and the Know Nothings, we are destined to being a third world country within two generations.
