Letter needlessly criticized task force

Friday’s letter to the editor from Arlington’s Green Party candidates (“Real action needed to combat poverty in Va.”) criticizing the governor’s new Poverty Reduction Task Force is a disappointing attempt to score political points by misrepresenting the mission of this important endeavor.

The letter’s authors suggest that the purpose of the task force is to examine how we measure poverty as a way to “divert the public’s attention” from steps we should take to actually reduce poverty.

This could not be further from the truth. The Poverty Reduction Task Force is developing a set of policy recommendations to lift children and families out of poverty. The question of measuring and defining poverty is a small, albeit important, piece of that larger puzzle. (How do we know we are really alleviating poverty if we’re using a broken yardstick that doesn’t reflect people’s actual living expenses?)

Moreover, the letter’s authors condemn Democrats while simultaneously advocating some of the very policies that Democrats have proposed, like increasing the minimum wage, progressive tax reform and expanding unemployment compensation. They accuse Democrats (and Republicans) of using this task force as an excuse to avoid action, when the last such task force, led by then-Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, resulted in Virginia’s Earned Income Tax Credit, which has been an invaluable tool to help working-poor Virginians.

At a time when unemployment continues to rise and children and families are suffering through the worst economy in decades, these Green Party candidates ought to focus on honest problem-solving rather than cynically misrepresenting an effort intended to produce substantive and effective policies to lift people out of poverty.

Del. David Englin
45th District, Alexandria