Thread by @WalkerBragman

Tax credit liberalism is gussied up bootstraps conservatism. It fundamentally accepts the notion that America is a meritocracy and holds that the problem is less "the system" and more that some people simply "won't." To adherents, education is the "silver bullet."

A minimal safety net, so the thinking goes, is all that is required to allow the worthy citizens to succeed on their merits. As for those who need more help? "There are already programs for them."

This kind of liberalism places an emphasis on personal responsibility for everyone except those at the top. Adherents generally accept the idea that the sky's the limit in terms of wealth accumulation.

As such, there is a reluctance to interfere with how someone makes their money and how they use it. This is why you don't see tax credit liberals calling for a pied-a-terre tax on empty housing units, instead offering up relaxed zoning requirements for developers to build more.

It's why you see more support for a carbon tax than a ban on natural gas extraction. It's why "Medicare for America" has become a response to single-payer.

At the end of the day, tax credit liberalism is privilege and power protection disguised as social consciousness.