Pay Sheet Wednesday Again

Today I get my pay sheet signed. I will be paid my little pittance tomorrow. It will assure that I have enough money to pay my Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Every month, because I don't get my social security until the second Wednesday, I have to be sure to leave enough in my account to make that payment. It comes out whether the money is there or not. Bob used to get his on the third of the month and that worked out so much better.

We had a discussion yesterday at work about the earned income tax credit that is paid to extremely low income folks who have children and who are working but just unable to get by on their low salary. One of the lawyers in the office claimed it was instituted by president Obama and that it was a free ride for those who didn't deserve it and it was paid for by rich lawyers like him.

I knew better. Taresa, my daughter in law received it in 1994 when she lived with us and had the two small children. My son at that time was a corporal in the army and there was no way they could get by on his salary. She used the money to go to school and eventually got her degree. Now she is an RN. It saved their marriage at that time. (Later, when he was deployed four times to the war, she left him for someone around more permanently)

Anyhow, I knew he did not know what he was talking about. He is one of those who blows and goes a lot anyhow. He lost me when he disparaged a good friend of mine who is a judge. Jack, my friend, is one of the best, most fair judges around. This lawyer is envious of him and would like to be a judge himself. His motives are obvious and his language is deplorable.

The EITC is a tax credit for those at the lowest end of the income scale, going to families with children that make less than $36,000 per year (though the income level can vary depending on year and number of dependents). Individuals making less than $18,000 annually can also qualify for a small credit.

President Reagan called the EITC “the best antipoverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress.” According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “research indicates that families mostly use the EITC to pay for necessities, repair homes, maintain vehicles that are needed to commute to work, and in some cases, obtain additional education or training to boost their employability and earning power.” And in recent years, the EITC has been essential in lifting families out of poverty:

The EITC reduces poverty by supplementing the earnings of workers with low wages and low earnings. There has been broad bipartisan agreement that a two-parent family with two children with a full-time, minimum-wage worker should not have to raise its children in poverty. At the federal minimum wage’s current level, such a family can move above the poverty line for an average family of four only if it receives the EITC as well as SNAP (food stamp) benefits.

In each of the last two years, the EITC kept 3 million children out of poverty.