An economics, investment, trading and policy blog with a focus on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). We seek the truth, avoid the mainstream and are virulently anti-neoliberalism.
"Income defined as annual gross income reported on tax returns excluding all government transfers (such as Social Security, Unemployment Benefits, Welfare Payments, etc.) and before individual income taxes and employees' payroll taxes. "
???????
Why do we think it is a good idea to include xfer payments to one cohort's income (ie Medicare/Medicaid providers) and not another cohort (ie Social Security recipients)?
So govt makes a xfer for Medicare reimbursement to a Dr and that counts as the Dr's income but same govt makes a xfer payment to a SS recipient but that doesnt count?
?????????
Is this not skewed?
Medicare/Medicaid xfers in FY2014 were 900B and SS xfers were $750B...
then there is another 250B in tax refunds (ie EITC...) which is not counted... $50b or so in Fed Unemployment....
then there are the progressive tax rate effects... that net to the households...
This doesnt look like it is a competent assessment...
According to Picketty, if the govt were to implement a UI tomorrow of $25k per household, nothing would have happened to "income distribution"....
???????
This whole Picketty thing is not well thought out...
3 comments:
"Income defined as annual gross income reported on tax returns excluding all government transfers (such as Social Security, Unemployment Benefits, Welfare Payments, etc.) and before individual income taxes and employees' payroll taxes. "
???????
Why do we think it is a good idea to include xfer payments to one cohort's income (ie Medicare/Medicaid providers) and not another cohort (ie Social Security recipients)?
So govt makes a xfer for Medicare reimbursement to a Dr and that counts as the Dr's income but same govt makes a xfer payment to a SS recipient but that doesnt count?
?????????
Is this not skewed?
Medicare/Medicaid xfers in FY2014 were 900B and SS xfers were $750B...
then there is another 250B in tax refunds (ie EITC...) which is not counted... $50b or so in Fed Unemployment....
then there are the progressive tax rate effects... that net to the households...
This doesnt look like it is a competent assessment...
According to Picketty, if the govt were to implement a UI tomorrow of $25k per household, nothing would have happened to "income distribution"....
???????
This whole Picketty thing is not well thought out...
And what do they do with nominal control of half of our national fiat, i.e., our net Public Initiative?
Not much?
Are we at the point where net human initiative is expressed only one tombstone at a time?
Why wait? Why do hoarders WANT us to wait?
Why would they exclude transfer payments?
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