Branstad’s veto further hurts those in poverty

Ignoring poverty does not make it go away. Unfortunately, some politicians think that's exactly what we should do. This summer, Gov. Terry Branstad vetoed a modest increase in Iowa's Earned Income Tax Credit, which helps workers in jobs that don't pay enough to live on. This increase had been agreed to by Democrats and Republicans in the State House and would have helped 240,000 low-income, working Iowa families. Yet the governor singled out that provision with his veto pen!

More than one in seven people, including more than one in five children, lived in poverty in 2010. When I heard that nearly one in nine people in Cedar Rapids lived in poverty last year, I thought about how low-income Iowans could really use that state EITC increase (the federal EITC lifted 5.4 million people - including 3 million children nationwide - above the poverty line last year).

For those living in or near poverty, persistent hardship is a fact of life. A Gallup poll shows that one in nearly five Iowa families with children have had times in the last two years when they did not have enough money to buy food. And more than 300,000 Iowa households pay more than half their income in rent, putting them at serious risk of homelessness.

As we approach this season of giving and reflection let the Iowa Legislature know and especially Gov. Branstad that people in poverty need help especially with tax cuts rather than the rich.

Judy Smith

McDowell

Cedar Rapids