The right’s new horror show: What reform conservatives are really peddling

[DonViejo]

Forget the talk about modernizing conservatism and making it less nutty. The future's more dangerous than you think

MATT BRUENIG

The so-called reform conservatives released a book of policy proposals last week to much fanfare. On the whole, it’s the usual hodgepodge of conservative ideas, though dressed up in slicker graphics. There is the ever-present call to repeal Obamacare in favor of tax credits, which is neither new nor interesting. There is the “drill baby drill” energy policy that makes not even a single mention of climate change. But the biggest horror show of all is the tax reform proposal, which is nothing more than the usual screw-the-poor pablum.

At its essential core, the reform conservative tax plan is actually two proposals. The first proposal gets rid of our seven marginal tax rates that span from 10 to 40 percent and replaces them with two marginal tax rates of 15 and 35 percent. The second proposal massively expands the American welfare state by dramatically increasing the cash transfers parents of children receive. Well, it increases the cash transfers some parents will receive, namely middle- and upper-class parents, while totally neglecting the rest.

More specifically, their proposed welfare state expansion consists of adding a $2,500 child tax credit to the existing $1,000 child tax credit and personal tax exemption for children. Although a massive expansion in child-related welfare spending is a great idea, the restrictions the reform conservatism plan places on who can claim these benefits leaves poor families totally out in the cold.

The two pieces of the child benefit welfare state that they keep intact — the personal tax exemption and $1000 child tax credit — already deliver far more benefits to middle and upper class families than to poor families. This is because the personal tax exemption operates as an income deduction, meaning the amount of benefit families receive from it increases as their marginal tax rate increases. In 2013, families with incomes that placed them in the 10% tax bracket received $390 of benefits from the personal exemption for each of their children. Families in the 33% tax bracket received $1,287 of benefits.

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http://www.salon.com/2014/05/27/the_rights_new_horror_show_what_reform_conservatives_are_really_peddling/