Marco Rubio's proposal to fight income inequality is pretty good — but it could be better

Reform-minded conservatives want to strengthen the Earned Income Tax Credit. We should be reforming the Child Tax Credit on similar lines.

Family Allowance
(Image credit: (Thinkstock))

Whenever the topic of poverty comes up, conservatives have a go-to policy: the Earned Income Tax Credit, which subsidizes work for low-income families and has become one of our most important anti-poverty programs. Amidst ongoing debates over income inequality, more policy-minded conservatives have proposed strengthening the EITC by turning it into a wage supplement program.

It's a great idea, and could provide a model for broadening the Child Tax Credit as well, essentially establishing a European-style allowance system.

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Joel Dodge

Joel Dodge writes about politics, law, and domestic policy for The Week and at his blog. He is a member of the Boston University School of Law's class of 2014.