Boo! Spooky Statistics on Poverty in America

Is there anything scarier than ghosts, zombies, and witches?

With 46.2 million impoverished Americans in 2011, the state of poverty in the U.S. is certainly frightful.

As millions of children (and many adults!) don their scariest costumes for Halloween, we know many of you are getting ready for another set of calendar dates: the upcoming tax season. Below you’ll find some “frightening” statistics on poverty in our country to remind us all of why we do what we do for low-income taxpayers – trying to take these numbers down to zero.

As Poverty Rate Remains Steady, So Does the Importance of EITC

The national poverty rate stopped rising in 2011, remaining relatively steady since the previous year at 15%, according to recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. While this means that more than 46 million Americans are still struggling to get by, evidence also indicates that crucial anti-poverty programs are effective.

But that’s still too high and too troubling a figure – and it’s clear that policies supporting people living near or below the poverty line are no less significant than when the poverty rate was rising to the well-being of struggling families.

Report: Working-poor Families Do Have “Skin in the Game”

As we honor the value of hard work, Labor Day provides a particularly good opportunity to reflect on the efforts of families who often work the hardest but still struggle to attain financial security.

Adding to that perspective is a timely, new report by the Marguerite Casey Foundation called “’Skin in the Game’: The Federal Tax System, Tax Reform , and Poor Families.” It reiterates the fact that those working-poor households who pay no federal income taxes nonetheless contribute substantially to the government that serves us all.

EITC Success Undeniable, but Battles Left to be Fought

The Center for American Progress estimates the EITC kept 6 million people out of poverty in 2010, including 3 million children

This post is part of our week-long series on the Earned Income Tax Credit to celebrate EITC Awareness Day on Friday, January 27. Check back each day for a new post!

By any measure, poverty rates have climbed over the last decade, highlighting the increasing number of individuals that are joining the millions of Americans already living without the proper resources to support their families. What these same measures have often hidden are the effects of our most valuable public assistance and anti-poverty programs on keeping families from falling into poverty altogether.

In a recent report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analyzing the effects of anti-poverty programs under an alternative poverty measure adopting recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences, the combined effects of six enhancements to federal anti-poverty programs found in the 2009 Recovery Act worked to keep 6.9 million people above the poverty line.

A Brief History of the EITC

The EITC was established by the Ford Administration in 1975.

This post is part of our week-long series on the Earned Income Tax Credit to celebrate EITC Awareness Day on Friday, January 27. Check back each day for a new post!

From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, there was a great deal of discussion in Washington over the appropriate design for poverty reduction and reformation. The EITC was established amidst political debate over the Negative Income Tax (NIT)—a government guaranteed minimum level of income and the Office of Economic Opportunity’s answer to ending national poverty.

The appeal of the NIT was that there was no need for additional bureaucracy to determine eligibility. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson, however, opposed the NIT in 1966 with no hesitation. He felt the initiative did little to encourage recipients in finding work.

What Are People Doing for EITC Awareness Day?

Maryland volunteers prepare materials for EITC Awareness Day

This is the first installment of a week-long series on the Earned Income Tax Credit to celebrate EITC Awareness Day on Friday, January 27. Check back each day for a new post!

Tax season has started and organizations from Maine to California are spreading the word about EITC Awareness Day (January 27) throughout this week by highlighting their free tax payer assistance services to the community.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of the nation’s largest and most effective anti-poverty programs. It annually lifts 6.6 million people out of poverty, half being children. According to the IRS, last year over 26 million workers received nearly $59 billion from EITC refunds – help with paying the rent, buying groceries, covering utility bills and handling other pressing needs.