A family that earned up to $69,000 in 2025 may be eligible for up to $8,000 in a tax credit

It may seem inconceivable given all that is happening in our nation but yes, tax season is here again. And while that is stressful and complex, particularly for those who have lost their jobs, from federal employees to nonprofit professionals and journalists, for lowest income Americans, filing taxes is a singular opportunity for financial empowerment. That is because of the Earned Income Tax Credit, added to the U.S. Tax Code in 1975, our most powerful tool for lifting lowest income wage earners out of poverty. I cannot imagine a conversation about solutions to economic inequality, through public policymaking and community education, without Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz, my guest, again, on Power Station. Joseph recounts how transformative these dollars, which are earned and not charity, are for these families. We commiserate over the cruelty of the latest White House executive order, which makes receiving those benefits exponentially more difficult. Joseph shares how this administration's efforts to undermine the right of all communities to prosper informs his nonprofit consulting and role with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. As always, he is driven by a belief in family, his own and all of ours.