Kansas GOP State Senator asks Congress to learn from Kansas while cutting taxes

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

This is like the tariffs of old. The Republicans kept pushing a policy proposal that no longer was beneficial simply because they were ingrained almost in their DNA that Republicans must raise tariffs to promote industrial growth. They did it in 1890, it backfired and cost them the 1892 elections and contributed to the Depression of the 1890's. By 1900 there was an understanding forming in the business community that tariffs did not work and that was because the US was the largest economy in the world, and was the low cost manufacturer. It didn't need protection, it needed markets. Even Mr. Tariff himself, McKinley was beginning to accept this line of thinking. Then he was assassinated.

Tariffs remained part of the Republican dogma for another 30 years, until the Great Depression and the Tariffs passed to combat it, clearly and demonstrably made it worse. The Republicans were weaned off of Tariffs by the New Deal Coalition's political dominance, especially with the working class, and the business community unequivocally saying "This doesn't work!" and Republicans embraced said community in opposition to the taxes and regulations of the New Deal. Laying the seeds for the next paradigm. A Republican Party opposed to taxes and regulations, not defined by support of tariffs, eventually Free Trade would even been assimilated into the small gov't DNA as just another tax and taxes are bad.

Now here we are. We have a policy proposal that was designed to combat the economy of the 1970's being peddled again and again as the appropriate answer to the conditions almost 40 years later. We don't have a supply shock, we have a demand shortage.

I have seen so many idiot talking heads on TV. One said the reform was unimportant and he couldn't care less and all he cared about was the cuts. That a-hole Puzder was on one of the shows earlier today and he was asked about a specific regulation being cut that was benefitting business and he said "well you don't here anyone talking about raising the federal minimum wage anymore".

The Republicans need to jettison these Wall Street whores, and embrace its base by getting money out of government yes and out of Wall Street gambling and paper pushing and put it back in pockets of working and middle class Americans on Main Street. I think they should throw in a 4th bracket to shift the bulk of the benefit to the middle class, they should remove the carried interest deduction, should make hedge funds pay at least the 20% proposed corporate tax rate and instead should raise the EITC substantially, raise the minimum wage to $9.50 and do infrastructure in Spring. This gets people off of welfare and back to work in a positive way, puts money into social security and medicare and substantially reduces the risk of another Wall Street originated economic crash.

It will also set us up with policies ready to combat a recession since some lead indicators point to one starting next year.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The key is to raise the minimum wage to a reasonable level so that people are off subsidies & earn enough to contribute to the economy & help create jobs. Plus, you have to take a 1-3 $ one time Debt to finance Infrastructure which will create millions of jobs & will pay off. This is an extremely low interest rate period & a good time to borrow.

This is correct. Though I would prefer a split of doing it half with the minimum wage and half with the EITC.