Press Release
February 6, 2014
AAF Primer Finds EITC Much More Effective In Helping Working Poor Than Minimum Wage
The American Action Forum (@AAF) today released a new primer examining the earned income tax credit (EITC) finding it benefits 58.1 % of the working poor; while only 5.3 % of the working poor earn the minimum wage. The AAF primer evaluates the minimum wage and the EITC in helping workers in poverty. The EITC outperforms the minimum wage in assisting the working poor in every measure evaluated.
Additional key findings from the AAF primer include:
• Raising the minimum wage would fail to directly assist over 98% of all people in poverty.
• EITC recipients on average work over 10 more hours per week than minimum wage earners.
• Average family earnings for EITC recipients is $24,017, compared to $48,860 for minimum wage workers.
