As our nation’s racial demographics change we must take steps to close the opportunity gap if we are to keep our economy strong and keep the American dream viable.
The U.S. is one of just three countries on the globe with no guarantee of paid maternity leave. We also have no federal policy on paid family or sick leave. That puts mothers—particularly those earning low incomes—at a disadvantage in the workplace.
While the official poverty level can tell us how many low-income families and children are eligible for anti-poverty programs, it cannot tell us how many are lifted out of poverty by those same programs.
Legislative attempts to limit interest rates on payday loans are likely dead for another year. That gives predatory lenders 365 more days to charge an average of 350 percent on small-dollar loans.
Unemployment benefits don’t just help keep laid-off workers afloat. They also help keep the state’s economy from tanking. But the state’s system has failed on both counts.
Increasing the minimum wage, which would positively affect many workers, continues to be discussed during the current legislative session. But not all bills to raise the minimum wage are equal. Some are just plain wrong.
New Mexico’s Working Families Tax Credit is based directly on the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which was enacted in 1975. New Mexico’s credit was enacted in 2007 at 8 percent of the value of the federal EITC and raised the following year to its current value of 10 percent of the EITC. Both credits are refundable income tax credits available to low- and lower-middle-income workers. Each year the EITC injects about $500 million into New Mexico’s economy, and the Working Families Tax Credit provides an additional $50 million in benefits to New Mexico families.
Today we’re talking about the state budget, and you know, there’s been a lot of people in this Roundhouse taking credit for—quote—“balancing the state budget during the recession and fixing the worst budget deficit in our history.” And while everybody argues over who balanced the budget, they all missed the more important point about how they balanced the budget. So I’m going to tell you.
Today is National EITC Awareness Day, a nationwide effort to increase public awareness about the benefits of the federal EITC, which is available to low- and middle-income working families. It helps people who work hard meet basic needs for food and transportation and provide for their children. New Mexico’s Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) is based directly on the EITC and provides additional benefits for New Mexico’s working families and communities. It can be worth up to $614 for those who qualify for the EITC.
It’s widely agreed that the poorest among us should not pay the highest tax rate, but in New Mexico (as in most states) they do. State and local taxes—particularly sales and property taxes (shown in the light blue and orange bars in the graphic below)—take up a higher percentage of incomes at the lowest end of the scale. That’s because the smaller your paycheck, the more of it you spend just on day-to-day living expenses—most of which are taxed.