Maryland’s Safety Net Reduces Poverty, Helps Children Succeed, and Boost our Economy

Given before the House Appropriations and Senate Budget and Taxation Committees

Nutrition assistance, tax credits, and other economic supports are working to keep thousands of Marylanders out of poverty and giving their children hope for a better future. For many Marylanders, meeting basic needs—like enough food, money to pay bills, or a safe and warm home—remains a daily challenge. In fact, if the estimated 585,000 Marylanders living below the federal poverty line were their own county, it would be the sixth-largest in the state. However, without our state safety net, that number would dramatically increase.

• Poverty in Maryland is a drag on our economy. Without the safety net, families in poverty are less likely to move into the middle class. A large and strong middle class fuels production and state revenue. Poverty also increases the cost of healthcare, decreases the level of educational attainment, and decreases life expectancy .

• The Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) shows the importance of safety net services and other public benefits for the working poor. The SPM shows tax credits and programs kept the poverty rate at 16 percent instead of ballooning to 28 percent. While 16 percent is still too high, the data show the safety is doing a vital job. Nutrition assistance, child tax credits, and other supports kept 41 million people, including 9 million children, out of poverty nationwide in 2012.

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