Expand the Best Program to Fight Poverty

One problem with smart economic policy is that few people are willing to go out in the street and protest in favor of the optimal solution. Folks will march for a $15 minimum wage. They’ll join campaigns like Fight for $15, and donate their hard-earned money to the cause. They’ll engage their skeptical friends in fiery debates on Facebook and Twitter.

But you never see people out there fighting for an increase in the earned-income tax credit, do you? This wonky policy, the brainchild of technocrats and academic economists, has been fighting poverty in the U.S since 1975. Most economists would probably agree that it’s one of the most effective, if not the most effective, poverty-fighting tool around. It’s also a big, important part of the U.S. social safety net, passing out almost $70 billion a year in benefits to poor and working-class Americans. But its confusing four-letter acronym, its complicated structure and its lack of clear partisan appeal mean that it gets overlooked in favor of flashier ideas.