Public Service/Subsidized Employment Programs

The case for expanding the EITC for workers without qualifying children is compelling, as the current EITC provides little help to this group. We argue that the EITC for these workers should: - provide these workers with a strong incentive to increase work effort;  - provide a significant subsidy to low-earning workers working near a full-time work level; - begin phasing out only after an individual is working at a level at least equivalent to full-time minimum wage work; - apply to both prime-age and younger workers; and - be effectively coordinated with the Making Work Pay Credit.

If you think apprenticeship sounds like a relic from centuries past — good enough for Ben Franklin but a no-go in a 21st-century economy — think again, Institute Fellow Robert Lerman explains in a commentary for thestate.com

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the economic stimulus package passed in February, provides significant resources for developing environment-friendly “green jobs.” The act includes $48 billion overall for job training and education, nearly $100 billion for transportation and infrastructure, $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy, and more than $41 billion for energy-related programs. But it is unclear how green investments will benefit the country’s most vulnerable individuals: low-wage workers with limited skills.

The increasing recognition of the importance of marriage for the social and economic well-being of children has led to demonstrations aimed at strengthening and stimulating healthy marriages. The next step is to ensure that factors closely linked with healthy marriages are addressed as well. This paper brings together research findings and policy ideas about the interactions between marriage, employment, and family functioning. It presents a framework and proposes several demonstrations aimed at improving employment and family outcomes for disadvantaged populations. The appendix reviews an extensive body of research on specific linkages between marriage, employment, and family functioning.

Building on our March forum, which analyzed how tax policy affects low-income working families, in April we turn to two supports designed to help parents stay in the workforce: child care subsidies and paid family leave.