Jeb Bush Wants Me to Do More What?
Yesterday, Republican hopeful Jeb Bush ticked off hard-working Americans everywhere when he said that in order to grow the economy, people had to work longer hours. Here’s the skinny:
What He Said: “My aspiration for the country--and I believe we can achieve it--is 4 percent growth as far as the eye can see. Which means we have to be a lot more productive. Workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows. It means that people need to work longer hours and, through their productivity, gain more income for their families. That’s the only way we’re going to get out of this rut that we’re in.”
This Is All We Heard: “People need to work longer hours.” And “Let them eat cake.” Then we played Hall & Oates “Out of Touch” a few times.
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Then He Talked Some More. Later Bush clarified that his remarks really were in reference to underemployment and part-time workers. His campaign cited stark statistics of falling workforce participation, which are currently at their lowest level since October 1977. It also was a dig at Obamacare, which had previously defined the work week for a full-time employee at 30 hours, causing many employers to cap work weeks at 29 hours.
Who’s right? Well, as it turns out, both are. Workforce participation in the U.S. is at 62.6 percent. The Bureau of Labor says there are 6.5 million people in the U.S. who are working part-time because they can’t find full-time employment.
But it’s also true that many Americans are already putting in longer hours, and taking fewer and shorter vacations. A recent Time cover story called out, “Save the American Vacation” and referred to us as a “no-vacation nation.” A 2014 Gallup poll claims the average work week for many Americans who work full-time is more like 47 hours (not 40), and 21 percent report they work between 50 to 59 hours per week. Another 18 percent said they work 60 hours or more. (Only the South Koreans work harder, but we really don’t want to emulate them.)
That didn’t stop Democratic rivals from hollering back. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton Tweeted: “Anyone who believes Americans aren’t working hard enough hasn’t met enough American workers.”
So there—for now.
Map of the Day: Navigating the IRS
The Taxpayer Advocate Service – an independent organization within the IRS whose roughly 1,800 employees both assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the tax collection agency and recommend changes aimed at improving the system – released a “subway map” that shows the “the stages of a taxpayer’s journey.” The colorful diagram includes the steps a typical taxpayer takes to prepare and file their tax forms, as well as the many “stations” a tax return can pass through, including processing, audits, appeals and litigation. Not surprisingly, the map is quite complicated. Click here to review a larger version on the taxpayer advocate’s site.
A Surprise Government Spending Slowdown
Economists expected federal spending to boost growth in 2019, but some of the fiscal stimulus provided by the 2018 budget deal has failed to show up this year, according to Kate Davidson of The Wall Street Journal.
Defense spending has come in as expected, but nondefense spending has lagged, and it’s unlikely to catch up to projections even if it accelerates in the coming months. Lower spending on disaster relief, the government shutdown earlier this year, and federal agencies spending less than they have been given by Congress all appear to be playing a role in the spending slowdown, Davidson said.
Number of the Day: $203,500
The Wall Street Journal’s Catherine Lucey reports that acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney is making a bit more than his predecessors: “The latest annual report to Congress on White House personnel shows that President Trump’s third chief of staff is getting an annual salary of $203,500, compared with Reince Priebus and John Kelly, each of whom earned $179,700.” The difference is the result of Mulvaney still technically occupying the role of director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, where his salary level is set by law.
The White House told the Journal that if Mulvaney is made permanent chief of staff his salary would be adjusted to the current salary for an assistant to the president, $183,000.
The Census Affects Nearly $1 Trillion in Spending
The 2020 census faces possible delay as the Supreme Court sorts out the legality of a controversial citizenship question added by the Trump administration. Tracy Gordon of the Tax Policy Center notes that in addition to the basic issue of political representation, the decennial population count affects roughly $900 billion in federal spending, ranging from Medicaid assistance funds to Section 8 housing vouchers. Here’s a look at the top 10 programs affected by the census:
Chart of the Day: Offshore Profits Continue to Rise
Brad Setser, a former U.S. Treasury economist now with the Council on Foreign Relations, added another detail to his assessment of the foreign provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: “A bit more evidence that Trump's tax reform didn't change incentives to offshore profits: the enormous profits that U.S. firms report in low tax jurisdictions continues to rise,” Setser wrote. “In fact, there was a bit of a jump up over the course of 2018.”
