During the 2019 legislative session, Maine Equal Justice partnered with many others to successfully advocate for the adoption of the bipartisan Invest in Tomorrow bill package – LD 1772 and LD 1774.
LD 1774, An Act to Reduce Child Poverty by Leveraging Investments so Families can Thrive (LIFT), and LD 1772, An Act to Secure Transitions to Economic Prosperity for Maine Families and Children (STEP) offer key reforms that create more pathways out of poverty and hardship and into stability and prosperity.
For information on what these bills do, see our fact sheet on LIFT and STEP. The Invest in Tomorrow initiative is an ongoing effort that offers more solutions for child poverty.
Rewarding work by increasing the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
The Earned Income Tax Credit provides extra income to low-wage workers. Nationally, the EITC has a long history of successfully lifting working families out of poverty. In addition to the federal EITC, Maine has its own state EITC, which supplements the amount people receive in their refund. Importantly, the EITC is a refundable tax credit, meaning that if someone is owed more than they owe in taxes, they will receive the difference. Numerous studies show that working-family tax credits boost work effort. In addition, research shows that by boosting the employment of single mothers, the EITC reduces the number of female-headed households receiving cash assistance.
Thanks to 2019 legislation Maine Equal Justice helped work to pass, the Maine state EITC was increased to 15% for families with qualifying children, and 25% for individuals without qualifying children. It will also open eligibility up to people without qualifying children who are between the ages of 18 and 24 for the first time. This will directly impact about 100,000 low-and middle-income households in Maine.
Increasing economic security through access to basic supports
Food
Families need adequate, affordable food to live, work, and raise healthy and happy kids. Unfortunately, Maine has a persistent hunger problem. We lag New England and the country in terms of the number of people in our state who worry that they won’t have enough to eat, or don’t have enough to eat (“food insecurity”). Maine ranks fifth worst in the nation for very low food security—that’s deep hunger—and in the top 10 of the nation’s most overall food insecure states. Maine Equal Justice helps lead efforts to address Maine’s hunger problem by ensuring access to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides nutrition assistance to Maine people with low incomes. Find more information about our work on Hunger and Food Assistance policy.
Transportation
People need reliable, affordable transportation to access economic opportunity. A lack of transportation is a major barrier to getting and keeping a job, especially in rural areas of our state. Research has shown that, among people who access anti-poverty programs, those who own cars are more likely to be employed, work more hours, and earn more than those who do not. Without reliable, affordable transportation, families with limited incomes cannot access employment, are more likely to miss doctor’s appointments, cannot get their children to child care, and cannot participate in community events.
In addition to making work or education possible, car ownership improves the overall well-being of families. Everything from grocery shopping to taking kids to activities becomes easier and takes less effort, time and resources. The additional time and resources could mean a world of difference for a family struggling to make ends meet.
