30 Issues in 30 Days is our election year series on the important issues facing the country this election year. Today: How individual and corporate taxes — and potential changes to their rates and distribution -- impact the economy. Visit the 30 Issue home page for all the conversations.
Open Prep: Questions, Articles, and Links to Get You Started
Key Questions
- Is tax fairness a drag on economic growth?
- Are Americans undertaxed or overtaxed?
- Who deserves to pay what?
What are your key questions on this topic? Post them below and get the conversation going!
Guests
- Andrea Louise Campbell, professor of political science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, takes a look at who pays what taxes now
- Bruce Bartlett, economic advisor to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, contributor to The Financial Times and the Economix blog at The New York Times, and the author of The Benefit and the Burden: Tax Reform --Why We Need It and What It Will Take (Simon & Schuster 2012), looks at the candidates' tax reform proposals.
Links and Articles
- "America the Undertaxed" by Andrea Louise Campbell in Foreign Affairs;
- The Tax Policy Center's analysis of the candidates' tax plans;
30 Issues Interactive from WNYC Data News
Got a Follow Up?
Each Friday we'll be following up on one of that week's issues. Got a particular follow-up question from this conversation? Comment below or tweet us. Tweet to @brianlehrer