A task force says reducing taxes for single parents, expanding insurance for the poor and increasing funding for early childhood education will help reduce poverty in Arkansas.
The Arkansas Legislative Task Force on Reducing Poverty and Promoting Economic Opportunity on Monday released 31 recommendations that it says will help cut poverty in half in the state during the next ten years. The group says more than one in five Arkansans live on incomes below the federal poverty line.
The proposals include a $3.6 million tax cut for single parents and an earned income tax credit that the group says would cost between $30 million and $32 million. The group also recommended increasing funding for early childhood education by $60 million to $100 million annually.