Red sign hanging at the glass door of a shop saying "Closed due to coronavirus." (Image: Getty Images)
May 21, 2020
AA new proposal from four senators--two Democrats and two Republicans--to offer a tax credit for workers displaced by the coronavirus outbreak is under fire from progressive critics who warn the convoluted plan is both insufficient to the scale of the crisis and an affront to more simple and far-reaching alternatives.
"Give people money," tweeted journalist Anand Giridharadas. "Money is like a refundable tax credit except useful."
The proposal from Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) offers a $4,000 refundable tax credit for job retraining to those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic's effect on the U.S. economy.
"The workers could use it to offset costs of training such as apprenticeships, certificates, and two- and four-year programs, including online learning, through the end of 2021," reportedCNBC.
Centrist think tank Third Way's co-founder and senior vice president for policy Jim Kessler celebrated the plan.
"We like it!" Kessler tweeted.
Progressives found that praise predictable--but not indicative of the proposal's benefit to working Americans.
JetPAC executive director Mohammed Missouri said on Twitter that the debt-focused payment schemes around higher education and training made the tax credit's prerequisites bad policy in and of themselves.
"In order to get $4,000 in a tax refund, people have to incur thousands more in debt," said Missouri. "That's moronic public policy."
\u201cTo call this weak tea would be an insult to weak tea.\u201d— Walker Bragman (@Walker Bragman) 1590015396
"Just give people the money," tweetedNew York magazine writer Sarah Jones.
At The Discourse, writer Paul Blest echoed that call, writing that "giving people a $4,000 tax credit for 'skills training' right now is solving the wrong problem."
As Blest wrote:
This is a crisis. Tax credits do nothing on a macroeconomic level and provide no immediate assistance to people in the short term. Instead of fucking around with these grand plans to remake the workforce by goading people into learning how to code or be HVAC mechanics or whatever, just focus on giving people money. Cut them monthly checks, cancel their rent and mortgages, cancel their student loans, give unemployment insurance to the people who need it and help states update their unemployment systems so those people can actually access it. All of these things would go exponentially further in helping to pull as many people as possible out of the despair brought on by the economic crisis.
There is a plan to do just that, as its architect Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) pointed out Wednesday evening.
\u201c82% of the country supports monthly relief checks.\n\nEighty. Two. Percent.\n\nWe need to stop making excuses and get money into people's pockets every month. \n\nI have a bill to do just that! https://t.co/qyprikjfQi\u201d— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Rep. Ilhan Omar) 1590009627
"The problem is clear and so is the solution," wrote Blest. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
AA new proposal from four senators--two Democrats and two Republicans--to offer a tax credit for workers displaced by the coronavirus outbreak is under fire from progressive critics who warn the convoluted plan is both insufficient to the scale of the crisis and an affront to more simple and far-reaching alternatives.
"Give people money," tweeted journalist Anand Giridharadas. "Money is like a refundable tax credit except useful."
The proposal from Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) offers a $4,000 refundable tax credit for job retraining to those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic's effect on the U.S. economy.
"The workers could use it to offset costs of training such as apprenticeships, certificates, and two- and four-year programs, including online learning, through the end of 2021," reportedCNBC.
Centrist think tank Third Way's co-founder and senior vice president for policy Jim Kessler celebrated the plan.
"We like it!" Kessler tweeted.
Progressives found that praise predictable--but not indicative of the proposal's benefit to working Americans.
JetPAC executive director Mohammed Missouri said on Twitter that the debt-focused payment schemes around higher education and training made the tax credit's prerequisites bad policy in and of themselves.
"In order to get $4,000 in a tax refund, people have to incur thousands more in debt," said Missouri. "That's moronic public policy."
\u201cTo call this weak tea would be an insult to weak tea.\u201d— Walker Bragman (@Walker Bragman) 1590015396
"Just give people the money," tweetedNew York magazine writer Sarah Jones.
At The Discourse, writer Paul Blest echoed that call, writing that "giving people a $4,000 tax credit for 'skills training' right now is solving the wrong problem."
As Blest wrote:
This is a crisis. Tax credits do nothing on a macroeconomic level and provide no immediate assistance to people in the short term. Instead of fucking around with these grand plans to remake the workforce by goading people into learning how to code or be HVAC mechanics or whatever, just focus on giving people money. Cut them monthly checks, cancel their rent and mortgages, cancel their student loans, give unemployment insurance to the people who need it and help states update their unemployment systems so those people can actually access it. All of these things would go exponentially further in helping to pull as many people as possible out of the despair brought on by the economic crisis.
There is a plan to do just that, as its architect Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) pointed out Wednesday evening.
\u201c82% of the country supports monthly relief checks.\n\nEighty. Two. Percent.\n\nWe need to stop making excuses and get money into people's pockets every month. \n\nI have a bill to do just that! https://t.co/qyprikjfQi\u201d— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Rep. Ilhan Omar) 1590009627
"The problem is clear and so is the solution," wrote Blest. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."
AA new proposal from four senators--two Democrats and two Republicans--to offer a tax credit for workers displaced by the coronavirus outbreak is under fire from progressive critics who warn the convoluted plan is both insufficient to the scale of the crisis and an affront to more simple and far-reaching alternatives.
"Give people money," tweeted journalist Anand Giridharadas. "Money is like a refundable tax credit except useful."
The proposal from Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) offers a $4,000 refundable tax credit for job retraining to those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic's effect on the U.S. economy.
"The workers could use it to offset costs of training such as apprenticeships, certificates, and two- and four-year programs, including online learning, through the end of 2021," reportedCNBC.
Centrist think tank Third Way's co-founder and senior vice president for policy Jim Kessler celebrated the plan.
"We like it!" Kessler tweeted.
Progressives found that praise predictable--but not indicative of the proposal's benefit to working Americans.
JetPAC executive director Mohammed Missouri said on Twitter that the debt-focused payment schemes around higher education and training made the tax credit's prerequisites bad policy in and of themselves.
"In order to get $4,000 in a tax refund, people have to incur thousands more in debt," said Missouri. "That's moronic public policy."
\u201cTo call this weak tea would be an insult to weak tea.\u201d— Walker Bragman (@Walker Bragman) 1590015396
"Just give people the money," tweetedNew York magazine writer Sarah Jones.
At The Discourse, writer Paul Blest echoed that call, writing that "giving people a $4,000 tax credit for 'skills training' right now is solving the wrong problem."
As Blest wrote:
This is a crisis. Tax credits do nothing on a macroeconomic level and provide no immediate assistance to people in the short term. Instead of fucking around with these grand plans to remake the workforce by goading people into learning how to code or be HVAC mechanics or whatever, just focus on giving people money. Cut them monthly checks, cancel their rent and mortgages, cancel their student loans, give unemployment insurance to the people who need it and help states update their unemployment systems so those people can actually access it. All of these things would go exponentially further in helping to pull as many people as possible out of the despair brought on by the economic crisis.
There is a plan to do just that, as its architect Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) pointed out Wednesday evening.
\u201c82% of the country supports monthly relief checks.\n\nEighty. Two. Percent.\n\nWe need to stop making excuses and get money into people's pockets every month. \n\nI have a bill to do just that! https://t.co/qyprikjfQi\u201d— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Rep. Ilhan Omar) 1590009627
"The problem is clear and so is the solution," wrote Blest. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.