Earned Income Tax Credit Is a Cheap Way to Beat Poverty

The earned income tax credit isn’t a policy that arouses many passions, on either side of the political divide. Unlike the $15 minimum wage or Medicare for All, it doesn’t have a popular grassroots campaign behind it. Unlike a federal job guarantee or free college, it isn’t a key plank of democratic socialist platforms. And unlike universal basic income and social wealth funds, it isn’t the darling of wonks who think deep thoughts about the future of capitalism.

Instead, the EITC is a humble program with a wonky name, cobbled together by economists to provide a targeted mix of work incentives and income support. The goal of the EITC isn’t to ensure the dignity of work, restore the middle class, or transform the capitalist system; it’s simply to lift poor people out of poverty as quickly and effectively as possible.