Today’s Charleston Gazette endorsed the idea of a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for West Virginia. Low-income working families have long been able to use a tax credit on their federal returns and in some states can do the same on their state returns. In today’s OpEd, WVCBP Policy Analyst Stuart Frazier states that typically families use the credit for just a short time before moving on to higher paying jobs. Putting more money into the hands of the state’s poorest residents would help reduce the rate of children in poverty which stands at 26%.
This week Sean O’Leary looked at how West Virginia ranks nationally in education spending compared to 10 years ago. Answer? Unchanged at 17th. Check out future blog posts at Evidence Counts to find out what this means in terms of education outcomes and policy decisions in light of the recent education audit.
So if we eliminate the personal property, an idea being considered in many states, how would we replace the lost revenue? There is no simple answer, especially one that does not shift the burden to West Virginia’s working families. Read more in part six of Sean’s series.
In his blog post today, Ted disputed the Charleston Daily Mail’s editorial which blames “family disintegration” for why the state’s poverty rate is so high. Citing much more recent research, Ted’s blog post offers several workable solutions to helping low-income families, even those headed up by single parents, to provide the best family life possible for their children.
Perhaps the best way to successfully create change is to time it during a Policy Window, AKA the perfect storm of a problem + favorable political climate + practical policy solutions. See more on how to implement change in Ted’s presentation, Advocacy Strategies to Advance Policy Change, available now on our website.
