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 4

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

•EITC as an example•Drivers of public policy

• HAPPY BIRTHDAY COPLIN!

• WE HOPE LIFE IS LESS OF AN AGGREGATION PROBLEM TODAY!

• EVERYONE STAND AND SING NOW! (or -5 points)

Electronic Policy• This will be the LAST time we say anything about this.

• If we see your phone out in anyway, shape, or form you lose 5 points each time.

• Do not have it out. Do not sit on it. Do not pull it out to look at the time.

• We will stop class if we see you on your phone to show everyone what you are doing.

Group # Points

3 9

12 9

17 9

1 7

5 7

8 7

9 7

7 6

18 6

11 5

14 5

15 5

19 5

4 4

6 4

10 4

13 4

16 4

2 1

Competition PointsWinners

LosersAs of 9/22/2017

Meet Dale.

• Dale Carnegie was born in Missouri and was raised by poor farmers.

• By the end of his life, he had amassed a fortune and is called the founder of self-help.

• His book How to Win Friends and Influence People has sold over 10 million copies.

Sup.

• His principles will help you know how to successfully interact with others.

•You will make a lot of friends and a lot less enemies.

•Learning DC will change the way you view yourself, and in turn, help the way others view you.

•His principles will allow you to succeed in life…

Why should YOU know him?

Dale Carnegie Principles

• Don't criticize, condemn or complain.

• Give honest and sincere appreciation.

• Arouse in the other person an eager want.

• Become genuinely interested in other people.

• Remember that a man's name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language.

• Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

• Talk in the terms of the other man’s interest.

• Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely.

• Avoid arguments.

• Never tell someone they are wrong

• If you're wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.

• Begin in a friendly way.

• Start with questions the other person will answer yes to. Let the other person do the talking.

• Let the other person feel the idea is his/hers.

• Try honestly to see things from the other person's

point of view.

• Sympathize with the other person.

• Appeal to noble motives.

• Dramatize your ideas.

• Throw down a challenge.

• Begin with praise and honest appreciation.

• Call attention to other people's mistakes indirectly.

• Talk about your own mistakes first.

• Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.

• Let the other person save face.

• Praise every improvement.

• Give them a fine reputation to live up to

• Encourage them by making their faults seem easy to correct.

• Make the other person happy about doing what you suggest.

Dale Carnegie•http://smartplayer.captionsync.com/play.php?vid=1504117570kalarounds_bd93358f373d

Famous DC Users http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-07-22/charles-mansons-turning-point-dale-carnegie-classes

• Dale Carnegie Training that shaped the lives of such people as Warren Buffett, Johnny Cash, and Emeril Lagasse, can claim an additional ardent disciple: Charles Manson.

What is Dale Carnegie?• It depends•A tool •A way of life•Good BS

Dale Carnegie Fireside Chat

Featuring Mohamed

• 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

Owner-occupied housing rate

Exercise 3.1•3 real players from the problem and area you identified in 2.6

1. Elected Government Official2. Non-elected player from a

government department3. Player from non-profit, public

interest/lobby group, or political organization

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

Fighting Poverty…

What policies exist?

Which one is Coplin’sfavorite?

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 lessthan… (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 of EITC

•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 seasonData 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

Their problem may not be as serious as first thought.

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

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

• What’s the most important driver?

BLACKBOARD• Your grades have been posted to blackboard.

• DO NOT hound Coplin about blackboard, he doesn’t even know how to work it

• If the grade you received on the physical copy of your module is different than the one on blackboard inform your TA!

Regrade Process•Regrade form can be found on the PAF 101 website•http://classes.maxwell.syr.edu/paf101/Module_1.html

•Carefully follow directions •You MUST submit the regrade to your TA next class by 12:45pm

For next class

•Prospective Community Service Email is due 10/11 by 12:45pm OR LOSE 5 POINTS Email your TA

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

•Regrades are due Monday in class at 12:45

•Module 2 due 12:45 on 10/6