State senate GOP leaders are promoting their newly unveiled plan to make Delaware the state with the lowest poverty rate over the next eight years in their weekly message. It currently stands at 12.5 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The 11-point plan is a mix of new tax credits to incentivize housing the homeless, educate children and adults and to allow people to legally sell food they make in their home kitchens.
Senate Minority Whip Greg Lavelle (R-Sharpley) says its goal is to also recalibrate how the state analyzes current social programs.
“Our agenda aims to switch the focus from how much we spend to the effectiveness of our spending. While we believe in a safety net, our goal is to help move as many people as possible from government-supported poverty to total self-sufficiency.”
Some other items on the agenda have bipartisan support, with Democrats currently pushing to make part of the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit refundable and looking at revising professional licenses in Delaware.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRcCYKmYQZw&feature=youtu.be
Here's the full text from the GOP's weekly message:
Poverty is one of the biggest problems facing our state today. So many issues trace back to poverty, from crime, to homelessness, to challenges in our education system.
Too many of our fellow Delawareans struggle every day to pay for life's basics: food, clothing, shelter and transportation. And the financial burden on taxpayers continues to grow.
This is why the Senate Republican Caucus this week announced an 11-point agenda to help make Delaware the lowest-poverty state in America by 2024.
In our plan, we call for more flexibility from the federal government in how we spend our money; offer tax credits for helping to house the homeless and those helping provide education and training options for the poor; and we create groups to study the effectiveness of our state workforce training programs.
In addition, our agenda aims to switch the focus from how much we spend to the effectiveness of our spending.
While we believe in a safety net, our goal is to help move as many people as possible from government-supported poverty to total self-sufficiency.
We look forward to working with our fellow legislators and the Governor to develop these ideas and make Delaware the First State once again.
