[Dr. Sivana]

(For those who remember, this parallels what liberal Sen. George McGovern called a “negative income tax” when he ran for President in 1972.)

For those who remember better, the "Negative Income Tax" was devised in part by Milton Friedman in the early '60s. He spends a whole chapter on it in "Free to Choose." The idea is to encourage people to work rather than simply go on welfare; Friendman envisioned it replacing welfare completely, eliminating one whole arm of the bureaucracy, though expanding the IRS. We can argue about how much the credit should be, but historically the Negative Income Tax/Earned Income Tax Credit was a conservative program, not a liberal one, George McGovern notwithstanding.

[businessprofessor]

Unfortunately, the EITC never replaced welfare. It just expanded welfare. The EITC has expanded during every administration. The rats have fought efforts to clean up the EITC fraud. All welfare including the EITC should be time listed. The IRS should tighten documentation for the EITC and increase penalties for fraud.