How is Bush & McCain's 'child tax credit' to the bottom 40% NOT "Spreading the wealth around" OR "Welfare"?

Aren't he and Bush doing EXACTLY what they are accusing Obama of doing except that they aren't going to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay for it?

How is Bush %26amp; McCain's 'child tax credit' to the bottom 40% NOT "Spreading the wealth around" OR "Welfare"?
and that exception makes all the difference doesn't it.
Reply:There are two tax credits currently in the tax code.





The Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).





CTC is a tax credit for lower income families with dependent children. EITC, enacted in 1975, is a tax credit for lower income families but the credit increases if they have dependent children. CTC is nonrefundable which means that it can reduce a families tax liability to zero but not below zero.





EITC is refundable, which means that it can actually reduce a families tax liability to below zero so that they may receive a tax 'refund' even if they didn't actually owe any federal income tax. This is sometimes referred to as 'welfare' by critics of the EITC, but the intent is exactly the opposite: Individuals cannot receive a 'refund' unless they have a job and file a federal return.





When you hear that 30% of working families pay no income taxes, this is why. Despite the republicans attempt to pin this on Obama, this has been occurring since well before the Wall Street Journal first wrote about it in 2003: http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/...





In fact, Bush's 2003 tax cuts increased the CTC from $600 to $1,000, thereby exacerbating the problem, if you consider this to be a problem.





The fact is that these two tax credits combined cost the federal government about $45 billion per year. Compared to the $2.9 trillion annual budget in 2008, this is less than 1.5% of the total.





To accuse Obama of creating this situation is a little disingenuous to say the least. He has proposed an additional $500 refundable credit for lower income families but again the issue of tax credits for the poor has existed for a long time.