it's the intention to help those people. but get this, the cbo says that 29% of the income gains would go to households that make three times the poverty level. so raising the minimum wage is a blunt tool. it helps some working poor but also helps others and thus is inefficient. meanwhile, the earned income tax credit ensures that money almost entirely gets to the poorest workers, to those that needed the most. it is by far the most effective way to fight poverty and reward hard work. here's the problem. it's less palatable to politicians because they can't pass off the costs to employers. they have to pay for it themselves directly through the federal government. that shouldn't matter because it's a much more effective, efficient mechanism. in march, the white house did propose an expansion of the earned income tax credit to cover substantially more americans. some republicans have gotten on board. it would be funded by closing corporate tax loopholes, which