Ezra Klein runs through five major policy proposals in the State of the Union Address. These will give us something to chew on over the semester as we discuss public policy, the pros and cons of different proposals and whether they are politically feasible.
1 - The Buffet Tax - which loosely argues that secretaries should not be taxed at a higher rate than bosses. More specifically, people making more than $1 million a year should pay at least a 30% tax rate.
2 - A Global Minimum Tax must be established to multinational companies will not have an incentive to shelter their incomes in countries with lower tax rates than ours.
3 - An infrastructure bill where half of the savings of ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be spent building up roads, bridges, dams etc here at home.
4 - A mass refinancing plan to allow more home-owners to refinance their mortgages.
5 - An expedited process for voting up or down on nominees in the Senate.
Expect written questions on some of these subjects in the near future.
