Democrats and Republicans love government wage subsidies. But they might have it all backwards.

A conversation with venture capitalist Nick Hanauer

The end of an era?

On the question of what to do about low wages, there are two schools of thought in American politics.

Conservatives generally oppose the minimum wage, but favor government spending to top off incomes. Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) — a refundable tax break for low-income workers — is the preferred route. Liberals generally favor expanding the EITC and hiking the minimum wage, often arguing the two complement one another.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.