In Response to: An economic life

Every spring, as I do the taxes of my stepdaughter, I get tight-jawed about the earned income credit (EIC), a massive giveaway to the welfare class, courtesy of American workers and retirees.  

I’ve been unsure where to direct my disgust with the throw-money-at-the-problem EIC concept ... until now, that is, when the March 2 issue of PAW hit the mailbox, and there, staring imperiously, looking for all the world as if he just stepped out (sans pitchfork) of Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” painting, was economics professor Alan Blinder. PAW’s puff piece reveals that “Blinder served on President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers, where he helped increase the earned income credit — a significant anti-poverty initiative ... ” (my italics added).  

Real fine, Professor Blinder; thanks a bunch!

H. Philip Brandt II ’60