Economists are mystified by the economic purpose of Gov. Walker's election year bribe

[Demovictory9]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is sending 671,000 families an election-year check. Democrats call it bribery.

Starting May 15, parents in Wisconsin can log on to a state-run website, answer a few questions and sign up to get checks worth $100 per child.

To Gov. Scott Walker (R), who drove the one-time tax payout into law, it's a chance to turn a state budget surplus into a bonus for parents who could use extra cash. To his critics, who note that Walker is a few months away from a tough reelection bid, it looks like campaign-year bribery of the up to 671,000 families who could receive checks.

And to independent economists, it's a mystifying piece of tax policy that has no clear long-term economic purpose and few, if any, recent comparable examples, given that tax breaks are traditionally incorporated for tax filing season — not in the months before an election.

“This is really weird. I have never heard of anything like this,” said Richard Auxier, who tracks state tax policy for the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank.

Scott Drenkard, a tax expert at the Tax Foundation, a right-leaning think tank, was also puzzled.

“This is definitely odd and unique. I haven’t seen anything like it before," he said. "It’s political catnip, but it’s hard to see how it improves economic outcomes.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/03/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-is-sending-every-family-an-election-year-check-democrats-call-it-bribery/?utm_term=.6b548bc7997c

[Wellstone ruled]

1. The Jesse Ventura effect.

And those who lived in Minnesota know how that worked out.

[milestogo]

2. What about dog parents?