The Earned Income Tax Credit on Its 40th Anniversary- The Most Successful Anti -Poverty Program in United States History?

Abstract

The Earned Income Tax Credit traces its roots to President Richard Nixon’s Family Assistance Plan which was proposed to Congress in 1971. In launching the plan, President Nixon said that the nation should, “assure an income foundation throughout every section of America for all parents who cannot adequately support themselves and their children.” (Nixon, 1969) In 2015 the earned income tax credit marked its 40th anniversary. The earned income tax credit is now the largest needs based federal welfare program in the United States. (Falk, V., 2014)