Boosting paychecks
Subtitle: the politics of supporting America's working poor
By: Daniel P. Gitterman.
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 180
ISBN-13: 9780815702856; 9780815703082
Subjects: Working poor -- Government policy -- United States; Working poor -- Taxation -- United States; Minimum wage -- United States
Description: In this clear-eyed account, Daniel Gitterman focuses on two policy tools that have been used to aid the working poor since the early twentieth century: the federal tax code and the minimum wage. The tax code can be fine-tuned in many ways- through changes to exemptions, deductions, credits, tax brackets, and rates- to alter the amount of income workers are left with at the end of the day. In combination with the minimum wage, it helps determine the economic well-being of many lower-income households. Forging a new political bargain that balances labor-market flexibility with security for poor working families is one of the most critical challenges facing government today.--P. [iv] of cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Boosting paychecks in America; title: The political origins of federal taxes on individual income; title: The political origins of the federal minimum wage; title: Reagan, Bush, and a new era in the politics of boosting paychecks; title: Clinton and the fight over tax relief for the working poor or the middle class; title: George W. Bush and the return of across-the-board tax relief; title: Toward a new bargain?; title: The past and future politics of boosting paychecks.