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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DP. I wouldn't think of it in terms of a number -- $300b a year or some other number.

I'd think of it in terms of, what's good policy. And what can we afford without saddling ALL out kids (black and white) with paying off debt for generations to come.

So.
1. Increase home mortgage interest tax breaks for people with low AGIs. Pay for it by reducing mortgage interest tax breaks for houses over $500K (or something) and/or higher AGIs.
2. All-out effort to make public schools better, especially in low-income areas. I'm not an educator, but I know Betsy DeVos' vouchers are NOT the way to go.
3. Universal healthcare, funded by a more progressive tax system. 
4. Lower the estate tax thresholds to the inflation-adjusted equivalent of what they were before W Bush raised them to $10 million or whatever. This would impact my kids, but it makes sense. Better, replace the estate tax with an inheritance tax.

And so on.[/quote]

1. Last time we tried to reduce lending requirements for sub-prime borrowers, it did not end well. Minorities gained nothing from that experience except more excuses why they are discriminated against. 
2. In a diverse county like Fairfax and Montgomery county, schools attended by predominantly minorities do not get any less funding than those attended by majority whites/asians, yet the performance difference is significant. You can't, therefore, blame poor academic performance of certain schools on funding alone. The most depressing thing faced by many black parents is the lack of school choice, to take their children out of the failing school environment they are otherwise forced to endure. School vouchers give them this choice. 
3. Up to a point, I support this. Basic level care, screenings, common procedures, with additional coverage available through private insurance. 
4. Why should a person's death be a taxable event? Taxes have already been paid on that money. Get rid of the step-up in basis, also get rid of the estate tax. People do all kinds of financially inefficient things to minimize estate tax. It's a waste of time and resources. Just tax income at an overall higher rate. [/quote]

1. I wasn't talking about subprime borrowing, where people can buy property they can't afford at high interest rates, and nobody thinks that was a good idea. I was talking about the tax breaks you get for paying mortgage interest, which has been a huge subsidy to the middle class. So a low-income person is in a better position to buy a house in a good school district, because we're subsidizing the mortgage (more than we already subsidize it for the middle class)--not because we gave them a ridiculous loan at a high interest rate. If your AGI is lower, you get more of a tax break. If your AGI is higher, you get less of a tax break. (We've got the alternative minimum tax, and I pay it, but it's a pretty blunt instrument.)

2. I'm talking about throwing more at the schools in lower-income areas, not the same amount. You and I can tutor our kids in algebra and English grammar, but low-income and immigrant families can't, so provide extra support. A voucher for $10K, plus $20K in FA, isn't going to get a low-income kid to a top 3 private school, that's ridiculous. But you're right, failing schools should be held accountable. For that reason I support competition in the form of charter schools.

3. I'd go further than you here, but we're closer.

4. If you're getting rid of the basis step-up and the estate tax, you also need to tax LT capital gains at the recipient's income tax rate. Otherwise you have very unequal taxation of different sources of income. Thus, the inheritance tax.[/quote]

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