What Would Henrietta Hughes Get?

Last week I posted over at Babalu about Henrietta Hughes, her plea to President Obama and the rent-free home that resulted from it.

Today, Paul Ibrahim makes some good points about what a conservative solution to the Henrietta Hughes situation would be.

The answer has been tried and observed. Only conservative policies can improve the lives of the overwhelming majority of Americans in the short-run, and all Americans in the long run, pulling people like Henrietta up from the grip of poverty.

The most important action is the implementation of school choice in every county in America. It is quite astounding that Americans are currently forced to pay for, and if financially disadvantaged, forced to attend, schools handpicked by the government. School choice policies, which would be swiftly implemented once the selfish teachers unions are bypassed, would allow Americans to attend academically superior schools for a lower cost than that incurred currently through taxation. They would give us a generation of a more educated, internationally competitive workforce that is far less likely to have future Henriettas sleeping in their cars.

Another crucial, and more immediate action, is a commitment to cut all taxes, especially the popular ones. Current U.S. corporate taxes, which are among the highest in the world, are passed on to consumers through higher prices, and to employees through lower wages. This is not to mention that they encourage corporations to move abroad, and crucially, discourage foreign corporations from moving here. Cutting corporate taxes would benefit Henrietta through lower prices at the store, increased chances of employment in more U.S. and foreign corporations, and higher wages once she is employed. Further, cutting taxes for the “rich,” however that word is arbitrarily defined today, would also lead to increased investment in new and existing businesses, almost immediately reducing unemployment.

Aggressive and maximal expansion of free trade would give Henrietta access both to cheaper products and to greater opportunity for employment by U.S. firms selling more abroad. Cutting corporate welfare, such as agricultural subsidies, would not only reduce taxes for Henrietta and her employer, but would also reduce the arbitrarily inflated prices of food and other products. Removing obstacles for Americans wishing to purchase health insurance across state lines, and curtailing mandates for insurance companies, would give Henrietta and her employer significantly cheaper access to insurance.

Read Paul's entire column here.