Increasing New Jersey’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to 35 percent from 30 percent of the federal EITC will provide over half a million New Jersey working families with a much-needed bump in their take-home pay while giving the state’s economy a boost.
Effective economic policies can expand opportunity and improve the economic security of working families. When everyone in the workforce has access to the education and training needed to reach their full potential, the productivity of those workers and the overall economy improves. When a state has high-quality transportation infrastructure, the economy is also more productive because goods can more easily get to market, employees can get to work more quickly, consumers can more easily reach vendors, and less money is wasted by overdue repairs.
Improving the quality of the education our children receive and the transportation infrastructure our economy relies on requires up-front investments for long term pay-offs. Determining whether and how to raise revenue for these long term investments is a critical challenge for state policy makers. This paper analyzes the evidence on the short and long term effects of investments in the education of our people and in improving our roads, bridges, and public transit systems. It also examines the effects of tax policies that could fund these investments. Currently in Massachusetts the highest-income households pay the smallest share of their income in state and local taxes. We examine the evidence on the likely economic effects of tax reforms that would bring the overall level of state and local taxation for very high-income households close to that of other residents.
The state budget lays the foundation of a strong economy and thriving communities. For Maine to prosper, the budget must address shared problems and work to meet common goals. Good budgets raise enough revenue to make investments that build a stronger workforce, help young families make a good start, support modern infrastructure, and address other goals that benefit all of us now and in the future. However, recent state budgets undermined our ability to meet these goals and instead prioritized tax breaks for the wealthiest Mainers.
Tax breaks that have predominantly benefited wealthy Mainers and corporations jeopardized state capacity to make key investments in a healthier economy and the wellbeing of Maine people. For 2015, general fund spending as a percent of state GDP was at its lowest in 25 years apart from 2010 and 2011 when tax revenue was hard hit by recession. That means state revenue hasn’t kept pace with the costs of maintaining state services or making additional needed investments and costs have shifted to local communities as a result. The voter approved education funding initiative will help buck this trend by increasing taxes on high income households, but more changes are needed to grow and diversify revenue sources to invest in all the elements of a stronger economy.
Research consistently shows a direct correlation between income, race, where you live and your health. In general, health outcomes for low-income Latinos, Blacks and other people of color are not as favorable as the outcomes for affluent White people. Colorado is no exception to this scientifically validated but preventable trend – despite making significant gains in providing health coverage to its residents and boasting the lowest obesity rate in the country. “Vital Signs,” a new online report by the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, highlights the dramatic influence of income, race and place on health and reveals stark disparities in this state and the effect on those who live here.