God grant me serenityTo accept the things I cannot change,The courage to change the things I can,And the wisdom to know the difference.

-Reinhold Niebuhr

PAF 101Module 2, Lecture

3

Class Agenda•Announcements•Dale Carnegie•Discussion of societal problems and policy trade offs

•EITC as an example•Drivers of public policy

Extra Credit

http://us11.campaign-archive1.com/?u=d8d53372b0dabbede84c0184c&id=3286ce75f7&e=84b7c67230

Government and Nonprofit Jobs: Find & ApplyTuesday, February 16

6:30-7:30 p.m.214 Hall of Languages 

Extra Credit•BLOOD DRIVE!!!Where: Schine AuditoriumWhen: February 17th, 2016 from 1pm to 9pmContact: kmconnol@syr.eduWhat I need: First and last name, email, date of birth

Dale Carnegie Fireside Chat

Featuring Sam

Competition Points

As of 2/10/2016

Winners

Losers

Group # Points2 9

8 9

12 9

18 8

7 7

15 7

9 6

5 6

6 4

11 4

14 4

3 3

4 3

10 3

13 3

17 3

1 3

16 3

• Photocopy both the title page and the copyright page of the book you use.

Exercise 2.3

Exercise 2.5•Census Data •Students lost points for preventable mistakes

•Must use Quick Facts on census website

•TAs will be checking your data!• If we catch you faking any data you’re a loser, and you will receive a ZERO for the entire paper.

How Completed Chart Should Look

Exercise 3.1•3 real players that you may use later

Seven Societal Problem Areas•Crime•Education•Environment•Health•Housing• Jobs and Economic Development•Poverty

The EITC Policy Dealing with Poverty“EITC, Earned Income Tax Credit, is a benefit for working people who have low to moderate income. A tax credit means more money in your pocket. It reduces the amount of tax you owe and may also give you a refund.”

(IRS website)

Basic Facts • The tax helps the “working poor,” those tax payers whose limited work hours and low wages keep them in the low-income tax bracket

• The refund depends on a tax payer’s:1. Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), which is gross income minus specific deductions* that a

tax payer is eligible to take2. The number of (qualifying) children

• * Common examples of deductions are “alimony payments made to a former spouse, contributions to certain retirement accounts (such as a traditional IRA) and the deduction for tuition and fees.” (Turbotax website)

Basic Facts

 StatusAGI must be less than… (Single)

AGI must be less than… (Married, jointly filed)

Maximum Credit Possible

No Qualifying Children                         $ 14,820                              $ 20,330                                 $ 503 

One Child                         $ 39,131                             $ 44,651                              $ 

3,359 

Two Children                         $ 44,454                             $ 49,974                              $ 

5,548 

Three or more Children                         $ 47,747                             $ 53,267                              $ 

6,242 

EITC Eligibility based on AGI and Number of Children

(Tax Filing for the Work Year 2014)

Basic Facts

• EITC is acquired when tax payers fill out regular tax returns and complete an additional seven lines of information

• Earnings do not include social welfare program, dividends, interest, and capital gains.

• Earnings do include wages earned from self-employment income and regular income

• Full or part time work

History

• 1975: EITC is proposed by Nixon but created and signed by President Ford in order to

help alleviate the burdens of social security and Medicare taxes for low-income

workers• 1970s - 2008: The credit is made permanent, adjustments

were made regarding categories, the percentage of credit, and those eligible for

the credit• 2013: Congress extended the 2009 American Taxpayer Recovery Act through 2017

• The 2009 Act essentially extended the EITC and added the “third tier,” or level, to help families with more than two children

Impact

• In 2013, about 6.2 million people were lifted out of poverty, including about 3.2 million children.

• Studies suggest that the EITC “increase(s) aggregate hours worked.” (Beverly, 2002).

• “What research has shown, however, is that most EITC recipients only get the credit for two consecutive years or less. Many of them soon move up the income ladder and start paying taxes back into the system.” – The Washington Post

• The EITC reduced federal tax revenue by $59 billion in 2012 whereas the cost of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) was $80 billion (Hungerford, 2013).

Federal vs. State

• 24 states and the District of Columbia administered their own state EITCs (2014)

• When you apply for the Federal EITC, you are automatically enrolled for the State

• Federal refunds faster (about 2 weeks), and the State takes a little while longer

• States typically calculate EITCs as a fixed percentage of the federal credit

o Percent of Federal Credit for NYS: 30%

Problem & Evidence

• Too few eligible citizens file for the EITC in Onondaga County

• Total Filers in Onondaga County in 2013: 211,656• Filers that are eligible for VITA services: 133,492 (63.07%)• Eligible Filers that used VITA services: 7,249 (5.43%)• Unknown Percent: Private sector filing & individual filing of the tax

returns

• * Those who are eligible are files who reported an adjusted gross income of less than $53,000• **Data are based on 2013 tax return season

Data are from the United Way, who received the data from the IRS

Value of EITC in Syracuse

Value of Federal EITC : All County: $ 3,097,509CA$H sites only: $ 2,576,685

Value of Fed & State EITC: All County: $4,130,012CA$H sites only: $3,435,580

Average Refund per Filer:All County: $ 1,264CA$H sites: $ 1,620

*2013 data

What We’ve Learned There problem may not be a serious as first thought.

80% take up rate may be a good as it gets

The 80-20 Rule• It takes 20% of effort to complete 80% of the problem

• It takes 80% of effort to achieve the last 20%

Five Drivers on Policy Topics •Describe how each driver shapes the EITC public policy discussions • Fear• Greed• Guilt • Love

Thinking about drivers•Drivers that Set the Agenda

• Fear• Greed• Guilt • Love

• What’ the most important driver?

The Role of Drivers in Problem Solving

•Set priorities

•Moderation is the Key

Erin Carhart• Syracuse University Class of 2014• Policy Studies Major• National Campus Organizer for Planned Parenthood

• Remembrance Scholar• Intern at Syracuse City Bureau of Research• President of Students Advocating for Sexual Saftey (SASSE)

• Winner • Do Gooder?

What Does Planned Parenthood Do?

0246

Comparison of Services Provided by Planned Parenthood 

Service Types

Mill

ions

 of W

omen

 Pro

vide

d w

ith S

ervi

ces

Source: Planned Parenthood Annual Report 2014-15 http://dailyorange.com/2016/02/amid-criticism-advocates-for-planned-parenthood-relay-simple-message-about-womens-health-services/

For next class

•Prospective Community Service Email is due 2/19 by 12:45pm

Email your TA

•Should be finished with all exercises in chapter 2 and 3 by Monday

•Module 2 due 12:45 on 2/26