Political Quotes

“Mr. President, tomorrow, Friday, January 30, is Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day. It is a day to highlight a vital tool for Americans working--and I emphasize ``working''--their way out of poverty. Too many Americans work hard, play by the rules, take responsibility for their lives, but simply can't get ahead. They are in low-wage jobs--sometimes two low-wage jobs--and don't really have much opportunity where they live or due to their circumstances to get a job that pays closer to a living wage. There are millions of Americans living in this situation. The EITC helps provide for their children, to build economic security to allow them to pursue the American dream. Signed into law in 1975, expanded by every single President since then, the EITC was created to make sure we have a tax system that provides an incentive to work. That is what it has done. EITC's expansion in the 1990s led more than half a million single mothers to move from cash welfare assistance to work, making it twice as effective--without the side effects, I might add--as welfare reform. Since its creation, EITC has lifted more children above the poverty line than any other government program. I will emphasize that it rewards work, most importantly. In 2012, 28 million American households--almost 1 million from my State of Ohio-- benefited from the EITC with an average credit of more than $2,300. I met Juanalicia Duran in Cleveland last year.…”