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THE U.P. CATHOLIC
January 21, 2022
5
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How expanding one tax credit would reduce poverty; put more people to work
A
tax credit exists for working families that one former president has called the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), enacted by Congress in 1975, is a refund- able tax credit on the federal income tax. Like all credits, it reduces the taxes an individual would otherwise pay. Michigan passed its version of a state EITC in 2006, offering taxpayers an additional 20% of the federal credit. Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) helped preserve the credit at 6% when it was slated for elimina- tion in 2011. Now, thanks to billions in available feder- al COVID money and surplus state funds, an opportunity is present to expand the EITC to a level never seen in Michigan. Such a policy change is a big deal for lower income working families who typi- cally use those dollars to help keep food on the table and the bills paid. It is particularly crucial with inflation on the rise. Right now, eligible families can take 6% of the federal EITC on their state tax filing. Senate Bill 417, sponsored by Senator Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City), would increase that amount to 15% in the 2022 tax year, and then all the way to 30% by 2025. In dollar figures, a family of four with $37,500 of earned income could claim $200 in a state EITC as it stands now. If the bill became law, that would go to $999 for that same family, to help pay for groceries, rent, utilities and other expenses that come with taking care of children. At a recent legislative committee hearing on his EITC expansion legislation, Senator Schmidt said the EITC is a hand up; not a handout. It provides support to low-income earners - and when the EITC has served its purpose and helped lift the family out of poverty and income has increased, they no longer qualify for it. While critics of social safety net programs question whether they increase dependency rather than offer that hand up, studies have shown the EITC has reduced poverty and decreased its day-to-day impact. According to one such study, 9.4 million people were lifted out of poverty though the EITC in one year alone, and 22 million people were less poor due to claiming the EITC. Most EITC families - 61% - don't use it for more than two years, meaning someone earned their way into a more stable income. A business case for expanding the EITC also exists. You have probably seen store- front after storefront in your hometown with help wanted signs - and some of those businesses might be closed because of worker shortages. The EITC could address that labor short- age. The Earned Income Tax Credit is ex- actly that: earned. Someone must work to claim it, thus a significant work incentive. Because of the work incentive, an expand- ed EITC could lead to better opportunities and higher pay and could have the effect of not carrying poverty to the next generation. Catholic social teaching promotes the dignity of work. Work is recognized as a form of participation in Gods creation. The Church also teaches that each person has dignity, and to recognize this dignity, MCC advocates for Michiganders to maintain access to basic needs. The state EITC is a critical component of protecting those basic needs. Now, MCC is urging support to take the EITC to 30%. We are grateful to Senator Jim Runestad (R-White Lake), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, for holding a hearing to better understand why this sub- stantial expansion of the EITC in Michigan would alleviate poverty and help get people back to work. For these reasons expanding the EITC is the best anti-poverty, best pro-family, and best job creation measure this Legislature could pass. The Word from Lansing is a regular column for Catholic news outlets and is written by Michigan Catholic Confer- ence (MCC) President and CEO Paul A. Long. Michigan Catholic Conference is the icialpublicpolicyvoiceoftheCatholic Church in this state.
THE WORD FROM LANSING Paul A. Long
Despite censorship, Heartbeat International's Abortion Pill Reversal program is saving lives
(CNA) Jor-El Godsey, president of Heart- beat International, predicts that 2022 will be a year of great promise for pro-life efforts to provide an alternative to the growing number of women who seek chemical abor- tions online. 2021 saw the FDA approve the delivery of abortion pills by mail, while Google banned all advertisement of the pro-life alternative known as the Abortion Pill Reversal (APR). The latter uses the natural hormone proges- terone to counter the effect of the first pro- gesterone-blocking pill taken in the chemical abortion regimen. Despite those developments, Godsey told CNA that last year's unexpected growth in women seeking to keep their babies and re- verse the two-step drug-induced abortion by mail,is an amazing new achievement that makes 2022 a year of great promise. The 2021 achievements at Heartbeat are all the more remarkable considering weve been targeted for censorship by Big Tech (Google) and misinformation campaigns by Soros-funded leftist outlets, he said. Describing Heartbeat International's accomplishments, Godsey explained that our statistics suggest that more than 3,000 babies were saved through successful APR starts, a record high for the organization. Google blocked all ads promoting the abortion pill reversal arguing that one of its fact checkers, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, claim that the use of female hormones to reverse the powerful action of the drug mifepristone is not supported by science. Facts are important, especially when discussing the health of women and the American public. Claims regarding abor- tion reversal treatment are not based on science and do not meet clinical standards. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) ranks its recommen- dations on the strength of the evidence, and does not support prescribing progesterone to stop a medical abortion, ACOG has stated. But pro-life activists who promote the APR claim that the ACOG's position is ideological and not scientific. They argue that the National Institutes of Healths National Library of Medicine has published important studies demonstrating that APR is safe and effective. One 2016 study that observed 754 women seeking to reverse their abortions reported that intra- muscular progesterone and high dose oral progesterone had successful reversal rates of 64% and 68%, respectively, with no appar- ent risk of birth defects. Godsey mentioned several other signif- icant achievements of crisis pregnancy centersiliatedtoHeartbeatInternational, including nearly 1 million interactions of women interested in opting for life rather than abortion. 2022 holds immense promise for the pro-life world, especially in the U.S., and 2022 holds immense opportunity for Heart- beat International and the pregnancy help movement to reach and rescue more lives, Godsey told CNA. The intense attacks from Big Abortion allies only highlights how vital the life-sav- ing work of the pregnancy help movement. While Big Abortion focuses on profits, Heartbeat International will continue to help women choose life for their babies, he said.
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