Christopher Shays: “I really believe in the earned income tax credit, because this gets to the third effort. We are trying to balance the…”

“I really believe in the earned income tax credit, because this gets to the third effort. We are trying to balance the budget, get our financial house in order. The second thing is we are trying to save our trust funds for future generations, so we are not the only ones that enjoy the trust funds but they are there for our kids and our kids' kids. The third thing is we are trying to transform our caretaking society into a caring society, to transform our caretaking social and corporate and welfare state--we just do not have welfare for individuals, we have it for corporations, and we even have it in the farming communities to some extent as well--and to try and move it into a caring opportunity society. We know that one of the better programs is the earned income tax credit for someone who is at the level of welfare but making money, working, not getting something from the Government, but really not enough to survive. They actually get a cash payment of $1,000 or $2,000, in some cases it could be $3,000.”