SENATOR’S “GUARANTEED INCOME BENEFIT” DERIDED AS A “SOCIALIST SCHEME”
Last August, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida boldly proclaimed the GOP would be “the party of the bartenders and the maids, of the people that clean our rooms and fix our cars.”
LOL … and the sugar barons and all the other crony capitalists standing to benefit from that “free trade” deal he cast the deciding vote to support.
Anyway …
Rubio has opposed raising the minimum wage.
“If I thought that raising the minimum wage was the best way to help people increase their pay, I would be all for it, but it isn’t. In the 20th century, it’s a disaster,” Rubio said last November during a GOP debate.
He’s correct. This website has repeatedly argued against raising the minimum wage (at the federal and state level).
“Government has no business defining such a standard in the free market – or compelling its enforcement,” we wrote back in 2013. “Wages should be based on what the market will bear – anything else is socialism.”
So is this rare moment of simpatico between us and Rubio?
Not exactly …
As it turns out, Rubio has some views on wages that run explicitly counter to all of his pre-programmed, focus-group tested talk of making America “the best place in the world to start a business or expand an existing business.”
Two years ago, Rubio announced his intention to “to replace the earned income tax credit with a federal wage enhancement for qualifying low-wage jobs.”
“This would allow an unemployed individual to take a job that pays, say, $18,000 a year – which on its own is not enough to make ends meet – but then receive a federal enhancement to make the job a more enticing alternative to collecting unemployment insurance,” Rubio said.
He added that his new subsidy would be “highly targeted to avoid fraud or abuse” and would be set according to “a range of factors.”
Sounds good? Sure it sounds good … but like a lot of things Rubio says,
The earned income tax credit (or EITC) is one of the largest welfare programs in the country – costing taxpayers upwards of $60 billion annually.
It’s also one of the most poorly managed, with the U.S. Treasury Department recently concluding that the program’s error rate from 2003-2012 averaged around twenty percent a year. That’s more than $13 billion in annual overpayments.
Rubio claims his plan would fix all of these problems – hailing it as a new, market-based approach to fighting the federal government’s demonstrably failed “war on poverty.”
“For fifty years now, we have tried big government,” he said. “Yet too many people remain trapped in despair. Now, we must try a new way. One that addresses the things keeping so many people from the better life they want.”
Again, that sounds great … but how is providing a guaranteed federal wage subsidy anything other than incentivizing dependency under a different name?
One Beltway-area conservative who reached out to us flatly referred to Rubio’s plan as a “scheme to impose a socialist guaranteed income on the country.”
“I don’t believe even Bernie Sanders supports this insanity,” the conservative added.
“Flood the country with illegals and keep wages impossibly low. Then tax the crap out of the middle class to provide ObamaCare-like ‘wage subsidies’ to low income workers – especially the newly legalized immigrants,” the conservative continued, explaining Rubio’s plan thusly …
Want a raise? Elect a socialist politician. McDonald’s is happy – they don’t have to worry about changes to the labor market because the government is paying for it Forget about innovation with robots or other forms of automation. Why invest in increasing productivity? Rubio’s wage commissar has it covered.
At least with the EITC there’s somewhat of a stigma from it being welfare. Here, Rubio is “employing” people through this guaranteed job/income crap. Jack Kemp and Vladimir Lenin would be so proud.
Yeah …
Beltway conservative – 1, Marco Rubio – 0.
In a recent post regarding the economy, we noted that “America’s economy can be rescued – but doing so will require radical reorientation of the governing philosophy in Washington, D.C.”
Rubio’s plan is no “radical reorientation.” It simply bestows upon the dependency culture a new name – and ensconces it deeper into the fabric of our economic system.
47 comments
Just be yourself,Marco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_lBQkjLONk
The minimum wage is nothing more than mandatory unemployment.
And yet every city and state that has raised its minimum wage has seen no decline in employment. In fact their economies are booming. The dirty secret of the right is that while their theory sounds “conservative”, the facts do not back up the theory. The truth seems to be that when the income of waiters, waitresses, etc is pushed up they spend more money and that increased spending creates more jobs.
Its like the Laffer Curve. You know the one where if the more you cut taxes the more money you collect and if you eliminate taxes you get infinite money. Its a theory that has never ever worked, but they stick by it because it says what they want it to say. Facts are not relevant. If the theory sounds good, for god sakes don’t test it.
Conservatives don’t even treat the Laffer Curve as an actual curve, but a slope. Treating it as a curve would suggest there is a point where taxes shouldn’t be lowered. Republicans will support lowering taxes on the rich until they pay nothing at all.
“booming”???
Yes. Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Louisville, Washington. All are doing very well.
All centers for money printing/gathering…it is juiced in some areas, but some not:
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/02/the-ten-most-distressed-cities-in.html
Really?
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2016/02/the-high-minimum-wage-at-work.html
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/08/seattle-has-lost-1300-restaurant-jobs.html
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/11/report-15-minimum-wage-could-cost-new.html
I could go on and on…the facts seem to disagree with your theory.
But they’re your facts not his. I’ll bet his facts include the entire work force not just the minimum wage work force.
Republicans, fighting for YOUR RIGHT to make less money. How are you supposed to pay the bills with less than $7 an hour?
Get an education, stay out of trouble, be responsible for your actions, and then I doubt you will be making seven dollars an hour. You might be making that to start, but the cream will rise to the top.
Wonder how much erneba gets in SS each month? Please, spend my tax dollars wisely.
It goes straight into a savings account for the education of my two grand kids. Fortunately, I don’t have to touch it. I just want to make sure that they go to college, are raised responsibly, and never have to worry about making seven dollars an hour.
You’re a good socialist. Why not let those kids earn their way instead of providing a free ride on the tax payer dime? Bernie would be proud.
They are earning it by being good responsible kids, and it is my money, just delayed in payment to me.
It’s money provided by taxpayers to you for simply being a US citizen. You’re taking that money and giving a couple of lazy brats a free ride. I hope they get a nice “safe space”. The way you talk about college students would really hurt their feelings. Your contributions were spent years ago. Our tax dollars are paying you now. Like I said… Bernie would be so proud of you.
SS and Medicare, two wonderful Democrat Programs.
“It’s money provided by taxpayers to you for simply being a US citizen.”
You only reap if you pay into the system, be a little fair.
I am not sure that I have consumer all the FICA taxes I payed along with my employers contributions at this point. I have not been on SS that long and frankly, I have not received back what I put into it.
You surely make many unfounded general and personal statements about people. Sounds like you have things figured out. If I thought like you, I too, would probably be a socialist.
I am not sure that I have consumed all the FICA taxes I payed along with my employers contributions at this point.
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did you vote for the war?
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Just_world_hypothesis
That’s some legacy for Obama.
Yeh reminds me when you Republicans drove the country into the worst recession since the Great Depressin .
That was a great legacy!
And then proposed making that goofball Palin ,who gives new meaning to the word “airhead, “VP
You would think as great as Obama is our economy would be booming and Bush is living with his legacy isn’t he.
I find it amusing you think everyone is either a Republican or Democrat.
the minimum wage is a blunt instrument. its the only wage that the government can influence. we can’t legislate increases to middle class salaries. we can only try to push up from the bottom. pointing out that there are flaws and downsides in raising the minimum wage is lazy ‘conservatism’. Labeling something ‘free-market’ or ‘socialism’ does not constitute an argument.
People sometimes forget that the true “minimum wage” is zero.
Not if you are making money and you need employees to run your business. Your cutesy Fox News quip not withstanding. Business is labor + capital + infrastructure. Without anyone of the three the business will fail.
“…if you are making money and you need employees to run your business” , presumably you would have to offer pay in order to get people to work for you.
On the other hand, if a position will cost you more in wages than it generates in additional revenue, you probably aren’t going to hire.
Yes, but the new higher paying jobs created from the additional spending that results from people earning more money will replace that super low paying job plus more. That is what the all the cities that have raised the minimum wage have experienced. Is there a top to that, yea. But we are not there yet. Higher minimum wages did not kill the economy in the 50s and 60s
In the 60’s when I was in high school, I made minimum wage then I joined the military and made less than minimum wage, of course the benefits were good. Know what else I did in the 60’s, paid taxes.
Some people will never earn a big salary or have a job with good benefits. Some people just don’t get talents or skills that can earn that kind of living. They still work, they often work damn hard, they should be able to make at the very least a meager living without relying on the government.
I don’t get how Republicans can be against both a living wage and welfare, a lack of the former necessitates the latter…
I don’t get how you think Republicans are against a living wage and welfare.
It’s in everything they write and say.
No it isn’t but keep saying it, your ilk will love you for it.
Against minimum wage, constantly bashing people on food stamps, you’re right conservatives never say anything bad about welfare or a living wage.
As soon as Trump kicks his ass in Florida we will not have to worry about him anymore. Can you even imagine this guy as President of the United States. President of Haiti maybe. But Jesus Christ, look at the guy. I mean can you see this weeny representing us on the world stage?
But you can see Trump as president? GTFO, moron.
Yes I can. And you will. I won’t call you names, because like a lot of Republicans you have been duped been duped by the establishment into believing that Cuban kid is capable of being a President.
Uh…..whatever. I’m voting for Bernie or Hillary. Both of them will destroy Trump in a general election. Thanks for helping put another Dem in the WH.
Unlike your attempt to use bigotry, “President of Haiti” and “Cuban kid”?
Do you have something against Cubans? What is wrong with being Cuban? By the way, the President of Haiti is black, not Hispanic. I guess to you Republican establishment types all minorities look alike.
No, but obviously you do. I don’t see you pointing out Trump’s German heritage, Fuhrer Trump. So what was the point in calling Rubio a “Cuban” kid. He is an American. Yes, most Haitians are black, so your wisecrack about President of Haiti made little sense.
I wish Fitsnews was paying attention to what Donald Trump said two years ago or even two days ago.
Folks isn’t paid to pay attention to the crypto-fascist. He’s paid to ignore it and write crap about Rubio.
Fits seems to have a new program which switches from article to article much faster than before. Is that done in an effort to log more clicks? Now, if I were an advertiser, that’s something I’d like to know.
“In the 20th century, it’s a disaster.”
Last I checked we were in the 21st century…