Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Talent Citizen of the Year: 'She just does stuff' Transportation desperately needed for paralyzed father Malawian inspires Ashland kids with ndizotheka — 'it is possible' Since You Asked: Crows 'commute' to feeding grounds Mail Tribune 100 Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Lawsuits claim sexual assault and whistle-blower retaliation at OnTrack Gang-related shooting in Portland sends 3 youth to hospital Emergency services Jail lobby commotion sends man back to cell 30 minutes after release Politics and Elections Time running out for O&C funds GMO vote recount still shows little change GMO labeling votes recounted under careful watch in Jackson County Kent Bush: First Amendment doesn’t mean what you think it means East Medford's the charm Education St. Mary's plays host to youth robotics tournament A lesson in giving Hedrick student council works to clean up the language Table Rock solid: Elementary school praised for keeping attendance up Eagle Point superintendent invited to White House Environment No fish, no funding for problem dams Most residents speak against gas pipeline Coalition asks for defense of GMO ban Home Help: Make your new house feel like home Bighorn sheep reintroduced along Klamath River State News As deadline nears, Oregon's health insurance signups still low Gang-related shooting in Portland sends 3 youth to hospital GMO labeling proponents concede defeat Tribes can decide whether to legalize pot Lawyer says football player had altercation Nation - World Grand jury won't indict Ferguson cop in shooting Obituaries Diana DeVoe Logan Ronald Bombick In Memory of Richard Eugene Snyder Rudy Giorgetti Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories Hope lost Crater, North strong at Coast Classic Spartans complete sweep of Totems Raiders self-destruct in loss to Chiefs No. 3 Florida State turns to practice field Varsity 541 College Sports No. 3 Florida State turns to practice field Smith big in SOU’s rout of Pacific Union Baker happy to have Heisman company Mariota takes Heisman in landslide Brooks, Oregon beat Illinois Pro Sports Hope lost Spartans complete sweep of Totems Raiders self-destruct in loss to Chiefs Scott claims Australian gold Spartans race to early lead in win Community Sports Keeping Fit: Runners need to do more than run to stay in shape RESULTS/STANDINGS LOCAL EVENTS Business Latest Stories Rental owners group reports 2.48 percent vacancy rate Blog: It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like... K-BAR ignites agriculture boom beneath Table Rocks State lags on grocery inspections Blog: Bear Creek Plaza next up on the market Real Estate News Rental owners group reports 2.48 percent vacancy rate More sales, but no change in residential housing median price Dear Monty: Violation of HOA rules creates conflict Farmers file suit over GMO crop ban People In Business People in Business, Dec. 3 People in Business, Nov. 18 Transportation Allegiant Air will resume Medford-Phoenix service May 22 Agriculture K-BAR ignites agriculture boom beneath Table Rocks Southern Oregon wine industry had a robust 2013 Farmers file suit over GMO crop ban Lawsuit seeks to overturn Jackson County's GMO ban or net $4.2 million for farms Opinion Latest Letters to the Editor, Dec. 15 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 14 Our View: Dana Milbank: The coarsening of politics George Will: The cheerfulness of tax reform Editorials Our View: Other Views: Riley leaves strong legacy at OSU Our View: Cheers and jeers Our View: Sentencing reform pays dividends Our View: Find middle ground on timber policy Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Dec. 15 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 14 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 12 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 11 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 10 Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Forest thinning means water for the future Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote Guest Opinion: SOU pool decision short-sighted Guest Opinion: It's time for biologists to let OR-7 go dark Guest Opinion: It's time Oregon put a price on carbon Lifestyle Latest stories Home Help: Create a happy homemade holiday Get A Life: The gift of meditation Give time as your holiday present The cure for nostalgia — Embrace it Community blog: Saving Lives Food Community blog: Gobble gougeres as appetizers or with light meals Community blog: Choose presents cooks can cherish, not regift Roasted vegetables are rich, flavorful Food for Thought: Meal-planning hacks to help you dine fast and healthy Kitchen Call: Hints for gluten-free holidays Home and Garden Home Help: Create a happy homemade holiday Rogue Valley Christmas light displays Remodeling your attic: Know the details before you start Dear Monty: When a lawyer’s fee is four times higher than the quote Home Help: Make your new house feel like home Health Community blog: Saving Lives Health Watch: Curb your kitchen cravings this holiday season Community blog: Unsubscribe.com Community blog: Redefining Family Dr. Murray Feingold: Say it like you mean it Hiking Biking Faith Religion news: Pope aims to expedite sex abuse rulings Milestones and Achievements Ashland celebrates 'Wild' screening with Cheryl Strayed Asante merger stabilizes Ashland hospital's finances Time running out for O&C funds Hire 'em and pray for snow Madi-Stiles Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories TMTO's 'Christmas Carol' a big, warmhearted extravaganza Phil Newton & David Pinsky at 2Hawk Winery Live Music in Local Clubs Over Easy serves 'pop-up' brunch Sundays Meet the real Jacob Marley Theater Meet the real Jacob Marley This Nutcracker ballet will have a superhero twist Plumbing the depths of meaning TMTO presents 'A Christmas Carol: The Musical' Theater review: 'Fiddler' charms audience in magical Camelot performance Music Rating old-timers’ albums from 2014 Phil Newton & David Pinsky at 2Hawk Winery Handel's 'Messiah' set for this weekend Live Music in Local Clubs Bob Haworth plays EdenVale Winery Community Events Rogue Valley Christmas light displays It's a Hamazon holiday at the Playwright Public House 4 Things to do this Week Soroptimist holiday home tour features four houses this weekend Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Dining Over Easy serves 'pop-up' brunch Sundays Ooblies Artisan Waffle Sandwiches Brunch at Loft Brasserie The Bohemian Club Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW 'Wild' author recounts journey from book to film ... Since You Asked: Crows 'commute' to feeding grounds ... Ashland celebrates 'Wild' screening with Cheryl Strayed ... 'Wild' author recounts journey from book to film ... Since You Asked: Crows 'commute' to feeding grounds ... Ashland celebrates 'Wild' screening with Cheryl Strayed ... ANOTHER VIEW George Will: The cheerfulness of tax reform MailTribune.com Writer Posted Dec. 14, 2014 @ 12:01 am Posted Dec. 14, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." — Mr. Micawber in "David Copperfield" If America's long-term economic growth were 3.5 percent, the result would be the restoration of cheerfulness. If long-term growth is closer to 2 percent, the result will be continuing social disappointment and political crankiness. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, did his considerable best to deliver the indispensable igniter of sustained growth — tax reform. As he leaves Congress after 12 terms, passing the gavel to an equally able reformer, Paul Ryan, Camp remains confident that it can be done. Such serenity is strange in today's Washington, where even events that cause cheerfulness are for that reason depressing. The euphoria occasioned by the economy adding 321,000 jobs in November indicates that we have defined success down. In the 1960s, there were nine months in which more than 300,000 jobs were added, the last being June 1969, when there were about 117 million fewer Americans than there are now . In the 1980s, job growth exceeded 300,000 in 23 months, the last being November 1988, when there were about 75 million fewer Americans than today . To demonstrate how young people "are not getting the kind of start others got," Camp offers a graph charting the "fraction of young adults living with older family members." Beginning in the middle of the last decade, the line goes almost straight up, to almost 46 percent. For those 25 to 34, median household income plunged 8.9 percent between June 2009 and June 2012, the first three years of the recovery . Surely it is time to give earners on the lower rungs of the ladder of upward mobility a boost by cutting their payroll taxes. This can be paid for by ending the nonsense of taxing at the low capital gains rate the income that fabulously wealthy hedge fund managers call "carried interest." There is consensus about the broad contours of tax reform: Lowering rates and recouping lost revenue by closing loopholes, and by improved economic growth, justify "dynamic scoring." This means estimating the revenue and growth effects of tax changes that improve incentives to work, invest and consume. And save: The median savings of households 10 years from retirement is a paltry $12,000; nearly one-third of those 55-64 have no  savings. Consensus abruptly ends when dealing with details begins. Suppose the deductibility of mortgage interest were capped at a $500,000 mortgage level (involving less than 5 percent of houses on the market). But all 435 congressional districts have this in common: They all have real estate interests (bankers, brokers, builders) who will object. But, says Camp, if tax reform delivers faster growth, housing prices will rise because more people will be working and in the housing market. Charitable giving, too, is highly correlated with economic growth. Were the deductibility of charitable contributions limited in a context of improved economic growth , charitable giving would increase: People give more when they are prospering. Such giving surged after Ronald Reagan reduced the top tax rate from 50 percent to 28 percent in 1986. Although this rate reduction also lowered the value of the charitable deduction, it ignited growth, hence cheerfulness, hence largess. Camp would prefer to have just two tax brackets (10 percent and 25 percent) but thinks that, for political reasons, a third is necessary "because of the Derek Jeters of the world." There are so many high-earning athletes and entertainers, and corporate CEOs are earning so much more than in the 1980s, that a 35 percent bracket for income over $400,000 (less than 1 percent of taxpayers) is needed to serve the optics of equity. One prerequisite for tax reform, Camp says, is presidential engagement. Of today's president, Camp says: "I haven't really seen why he is there." Because comprehensive tax reform inevitably would leave no faction unscathed, Camp's optimism might seem misplaced. But optimism comes easily to a man two years into remission from lymphoma, the treatment for which cost him much of his hair. Said his son, with the savoir-faire for which the young are known: "Don't worry, Dad, it was going anyway." Camp is going from Congress with the knowledge that he advanced the cause of reform, and hence of American revival, and that, as Jefferson said, "The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches." George Will's email address is [email protected]. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Dec. 14, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501