Well, I was just paraphrasing a good headline from the Economic Policy Institute (imagine that...a snappy headline from the staid but smart folks over there...keep it up). A few days ago, I wrote about the idiocy of the Senate linking tax cuts to a hike in the minimum wage. Max Sawicky at EPI had a good column a couple of weeks ago (which I missed, yes indeed) showing how the tax cuts are simply an issue of politics, not economics. The headline of the piece: Like A Fish Needs A Bicycle:
The House of Representatives has passed an increase in the minimum wage, but the proposal faces obstacles in the Senate ostensibly founded on a desire to compensate small business owners for the burden such an increase might impose. But this alleged need to compensate businesses is dubious at best and clearly more inspired by politics rather than credible equity considerations or sound economic reasoning.
The piece gives some very good rebuttals to the arguments for tax cuts. The conclusion:
There is no sound rationale for the current efforts to offset the impact of an increase in the minimum wage. As a general matter, every budget decision entails a shift in resources somewhere in the economy. Obviously, most such decisions are not subjected to a compensation requirement. Moreover, any actual compensation disadvantages some third party. A tax cut to offset the impact of the minimum wage is ultimately paid for by future taxpayers. Finally, the bill contains tax increases that are uncompensated and must lay a
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