Marian Wright Edelman: The Threat of Persistent Poverty

[ProSense]

Marian Wright EdelmanThe Threat of Persistent Poverty <...>

It’s clear that the Great Recession has thrust millions of children and families into poverty—many in extreme poverty—jeopardizing the promise of a productive future for children and our nation. Millions more are likely to suffer long-term effects of the recession and more will become mired in persistent poverty—unless and until we have the courage to act decisively and invest in the future of our most vulnerable children. As a first step, we must not allow Congress to continue the Bush tax cuts scheduled to expire at the end of this year for the richest two percent of taxpayers. Continuing tax cuts for individuals with incomes under $200,000 and families under $250,000, as President Obama proposes to do, will assist 98 percent of tax filers and help jumpstart the economy since those benefiting will likely spend what they receive. With 15.5 million children living in poverty, there is no rational or sensible argument for spending an additional $68 billion a year, $700 billion over ten years, to reward the very richest people with an average tax cut of more than $310,000. These multimillionaires, with average incomes of $6 million, saw their fortunes grow enormously these last several years while millions of children and families fell backwards. These funds could give millions of poor children a head start in life by enrolling all 4.2 million eligible infants and toddlers in Early Head Start and all 2.1 million eligible three- to five-year-olds in the Head Start program. Currently only three percent of eligible children are enrolled in Early Head Start and just over 40 percent of eligible children are enrolled in Head Start.

As Congress returns, it must help maintain extra supports for low income children and families. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund, which has created more than 250,000 short-term jobs for low-income parents, must be extended before it expires at the end of the year. Improvements in the Child and Earned Income Tax Credits must be made permanent to help low and middle income families make ends meet. All of these investments make an enormous difference in the lives of millions of children. Multimillionaires should get at the end of the line for government help. They’ve had far more than their fair share.