The Welfare of Families The Welfare of Families
A Project by Jay Martin
Overview Problems Programs Bills
Overview Problems Programs Bills
Two Tiers of Welfare Marriage Penalties
Marginal Tax Rates Asinine Asset Tests
Administrative Burdens Tax Code Over-Reliance

Problems with Existing Family Benefits

Two Tiers of Welfare
Convenient and easy to use benefits for me. Complex and burdensome benefits for thee.
Marriage Penalties
You like your partner and want to marry them? Well, I hope you don't also like money.
Marginal Tax Rates
Work doesn't pay when means tests impose punishing marginal tax rates on working class families
Asinine Asset tests
Want to save money but also not starve? Too bad.
Chart of EITC and CTC Benefits
Administrative Burdens
It's hard being poor. Complicated eligibility tests make it even harder.
Over-Reliance on the Tax Code
Dare I say it? Should...perhaps...not every goal we want to advance be administered through the tax code?
J
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Major Programs (And How They Can Be Improved)

The Child Tax Credit
The fundamental—and problematic—family benefit
The Earned Income Tax Credit
What if we did a wage subsidy, but not really? And what if we also made it a pillar of our family benefits, for some reason?
The Head of Household Filing Status
The American obsession with convoluted benefits administered through the tax code
The Child and Dependent Care Credit
Sure, we already have a child tax credit, but how about another, worse one?
SNAP (Food Stamps)
I simply wouldn't make reducing hunger so complicated
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Brett Favre's favorite social benefit

Major Programs

The Child Tax Credit
The fundamental—and problematic—family benefit
The Earned Income Tax Credit
What if we did a wage subsidy, but not really? And what if we also made it a pillar of our family benefits, for some reason?
The Head of Household Filing Status
The American obsession with convoluted benefits administered through the tax code
The Child and Dependent Care Credit
Sure, we already have a child tax credit, but how about another, worse one?
SNAP (Food Stamps)
I simply wouldn't make reducing hunger so complicated
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Brett Favre's favorite social benefit

Analysis of Proposed Bills

Analysis of the Family Security Act
The Basis For a Bipartisan Reform of Family Benefits.
And a Damn Good One at That.
Analysis of Build Back Better
The Center of the Democratic Party Shows a Renewed Commitment to the Welfare State. And to Many of the Problems that Have Befuddled It.
Analysis of the Working Families Tax Relief Act
An Analysis of the Psyche of The Democratic Party
Analysis of the End Child Poverty Act
The Progressives Response to the Democratic Party Mainstream
Analysis of the SSI Restoration Act
We Could All Do With Some Incremental Reform In Our Lives. And Then We Come Back Later For More.
A Project by Jay Martin
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