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Seth DiStefano: W.Va. families need tax break, not another burden

The Herald-Dispatch - 2/11/2018

At a time when so many families are living paycheck to paycheck, we need policies that lift West Virginians out of poverty, not push them deeper into it. Yet some lawmakers want to increase the burden on struggling families by limiting access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), under the guise of boosting employment.

Members of the West Virginia House have introduced a bill - House Bill 4001 - that would require the state's Department of Health and Human Resources to implement work requirements for SNAP recipients, effectively eliminating the program for those most in need. Doing so would not only increase economic hardship and food insecurity among struggling families, but could also hurt the state's economy by decreasing the flow of SNAP benefits into our rural areas.

Lawmakers claim that imposing work requirements on SNAP would boost employment and help lift West Virginians out of poverty. The evidence paints a much different picture. When DHHR implemented such requirements for SNAP in nine counties as part of a pilot project, it failed to boost employment. What happened instead was predictable: SNAP enrollment declined and food pantries, many already over capacity, took on even more of the burden to provide assistance.

If lawmakers are genuinely concerned about boosting employment, they should back away from restricting SNAP eligibility and focus on proven measures that encourage work while lifting people out of poverty, such as enacting a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit.

The EITC already exists at the federal level, and it provides a tax break for low-income working families. By raising household incomes, the credit incentivizes employment and increases workforce participation rates, according to numerous studies.

The credit still enjoys bipartisan support, even during such polarized times, because it works. In fact, the credit lifts more than six million Americans, including three million children, out of poverty each year, making it one of the nation's largest and most successful anti-poverty programs. This upward economic mobility improves health outcomes, leads to better academic performance for kids and even increases life expectancy.

Fortunately, West Virginia legislators have introduced a bill in the Senate (SB 126) to establish a state-level EITC for low-income working families. If passed, the credit would boost employment and allow low-wage West Virginians to keep more of what they've earned. So what are we waiting for?

It's time for West Virginia to join 29 other states and the District of Columbia to enact our own version of the EITC. Our state's working families can't afford to wait.

Seth DiStefano is policy outreach director for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, based in Charleston.