Mucciaroni Case Summary

Consider the efforts to change tax and agricultural policies described by Mucciaroni (1994). Begin an analysis of those events using the multiple streams approach described in the Zahariadis (2014) reading. For each case provide answers to the following three prompts: What conditions constituted the problem stream?
In regards to the tax reform part of the case, the problem stream includes the need to reduce taxes for middle class families and low-income families and to stimulate economic growth in certain industries. The Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA) was meant to lower taxes, but it increased perceived unfairness as it lowered taxes for corporations to the point they barely paid any taxes compared to what middle class families were paying. Another element in the problem stream is that the public supports most tax expenditures that provide benefits for
This group supported reform as they believed it would benefit consumers, taxpayers, and help reduce the deficit and made a case that farm subsidies contributed to economic burdens and inequity. This competed with the idea that the farmers were the victims who were trying to survive and make an honest living. What conditions and/or events constituted the politics stream?
A good amount of public opinion in included in the politics stream of these cases. In the case of the change in agricultural policies, the public was very sympathetic to farmers due to the agrarian myth. This myth stems from America’s past where farmers were devoted to working the land as a way of life rather than a way to make money. In the case of tax reform, the Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA) was meant to lower taxes, but it increased the public perception of unfairness: taxes were perceived as too high for the middle class and too low for the upper class and for large business