Poverty and Income

Earned Income Tax Credit Promotes Work, Encourages Children’s Success at School, Research Finds

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which went to 27.5 million low- and moderate-income working families in 2010, provides work, income, educational, and health benefits to its recipients and their children, a substantial body of research shows. In addition, recent ground-breaking research suggests, the EITC’s benefits extend well beyond the limited time during which families typically claim the credit.
 

Chairman Ryan Gets 66 Percent of His Budget Cuts from Programs for People With Low or Moderate Incomes

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s new budget plan would get at least 66 percent of its $5 trillion in non-defense budget cuts over ten years (relative to a continuation of current policies) from programs that serve people of limited means, standing a core principle of the Simpson-Bowles fiscal commission on its head.
 

Related:

• Ryan Budget Would Undermine Safety Net’s Work Supports
• Ryan Roundup: Everything You Need to Know About Chairman Ryan's Budget

Deficit Reduction Should Not Increase Poverty and Hardship

With President Obama and lawmakers of both parties vowing to achieve further deficit reduction, the stakes are high for low- and moderate-income Americans. If policymakers heavily target programs that serve vulnerable Americans, they will run the risk of increasing poverty and hardship and reducing opportunity for those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder, limiting their future educational and employment prospects. If, however, policymakers take a more balanced approach to deficit reduction, one that includes adequate new revenues to complement additional spending cuts, they can further reduce deficits while maintaining the resources to invest in key building blocks of future prosperity, including effective services and supports for poor families and children. Read more