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Storm system to exit US, leaving behind at least 39 dead and vast destruction from tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms; ME farmers, others hurt by USDA freeze on funding grants; SNAP, Medicaid cuts would strain PA emergency food system; Trash 2 Trends: Turning garbage into glamour to fight climate change.

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Secretary of State Rubio pledges more arrests like that of student activist Mahmoud Khalil. Former EPA directors sound the alarm on Lee Zeldin's deregulation plans, and lack of opportunity is pushing rural Gen Zers out of their communities.

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Farmers worry promised federal reimbursements aren't coming while fears mount that the Trump administration's efforts to raise cash means the sale of public lands, and rural America's shortage of doctors has many physicians skipping retirement.

Report: Direct cash programs could benefit more WA families in need

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Tuesday, November 26, 2024   

Support for programs providing direct cash would benefit families in need in Washington state, a new report showed.

About one in four Washingtonians struggle to meet their basic needs because of low income. The Washington State Budget and Policy Center analyzed two programs currently implemented in the state: the Working Families Tax Credit and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and guaranteed basic income, which is being piloted in some parts of the state.

Leila Reynolds, campaign communications manager for the Washington State Budget and Policy Center and the report's co-author, laid out principles to ensure the programs benefit the most people possible.

"Those principles include making sure that cash programs are targeted to people who most need it; that cash is recurring so that people can depend on it," Reynolds outlined. "Usually monthly; that it's unrestricted so that families can use it in whatever way they need."

The Working Families Tax Credit provides rebates up to $1,255 to low and middle income families. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program is a federal benefit administered by the state. The Growing Resilience in Tacoma program is one example of a guaranteed basic income program in the state. It received nearly $2 million from the state legislature in 2023.

Reynolds argued restrictions are holding the programs back, such as the 60 month limit for TANF and age restrictions on the Working Families Tax Credit, which keep young adults without children from benefiting. She noted the public benefits system addresses secondary needs like housing and food assistance but doesn't target the core issue of poverty, which is a lack of cash recipients could be used as needed.

"Research has shown that overwhelmingly recipients of cash transfer programs use that money for essential needs, like food, financial emergencies," Reynolds stressed. "We know that these programs work and we just want to make sure that they're expanded."

Reynolds also notes direct cash programs have ripple effects benefiting society.

"You see health impacts," Reynolds observed. "There's been research that's shown increase in brain activity in babies, improved maternal health outcomes, improved educational outcomes, reducing recidivism, improving employment outcomes."


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