Federal farm subsidies have kept growing from occasional disaster relief into a sprawling system of commodity supports, crop insurance, sugar protection, and bailouts. With the backdrop of the Farm Bill, Cato’s @MrRBourne, @catoedwards, and @clark_packard discuss who really benefits, why reform never sticks, and how tariffs hurt farmers that Congress then subsidizes.
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Trump has fired at least 21 inspectors general (IGs) since taking office and is proposing to cut real IG funding by 23 percent between FY2025-FY2031. Weakening the IG system is a surefire way to undermine the administration's "war on fraud."
Those left critics are right--even if the EITC gets some people off the couch and increases labor supply, it pushes down market wages. Another good reason to repeal the EITC.
@veroderugy@CatoEdwards Also I think, another key angle of this research relevant for EITC critics from the left -- who argue it subsidizes employers (through a channel of labor supply increase).
A decade ago, @veroderugy and I argued that the costs of the EITC outweighed the benefits, which was an unfashionable view at the time. Now, mainstream researchers are coming around. https://t.co/aWBt9gPXFu
The top 10% pays 60% of all federal taxes, the bottom 20% pays effectively nothing, and last year’s tax cuts added new complexity. In a new Cato Podcast episode, @CatoEdwards and @adamnmichel unpack the numbers and make the case for real reform.
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Spotify: https://t.co/6rYpjDi7iV
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@reCognitiveBias@CatoInstitute@adamnmichel Basically correct James. We want everyone to save and build wealth--including rich people--because that benefits all of us. Wealth is socially beneficial. By contrast, most political interventions are socially damaging.
@nickgillespie Even worse, the GOP speaker for 8 years was a high-school wrestling coach who was not only financially corrupt but an alleged child abuser. In politics, the worst get to the top.