Page 16 - BusinessWest December 26, 2022

An Important Hand Up
Proponents Celebrate Successful Push for Cliff-effect Legislation
Springfield City Councilor Tracye Whitfield knows something about the cliff effect. So she was gratified to be a part of a celebra-
tion on Dec. 7 for a pilot program included in the state’s economic-development bill in October.
Representatives from the Food Bank of West- ern Massachusetts, Springfield WORKS, and the Western Massachusetts Economic Development
“It’s not that people are sitting at home and want to be lazy or don’t want to work or want to stay on benefits forever.”
Council (WMEDC) joined legislators in discuss- ing the $1 million pilot program, which will mitigate the unintended consequences of the so- called cliff effect, which occurs when household earned income increases just enough that fami- lies precipitously lose eligibility for public-assis- tance supports like food, childcare, and housing services, resulting in lower income overall and weakened economic stability.
Whitfield told the gathering she considered quitting her job at MassMutual nearly three
decades ago because a bump
in her salary, combined with her child-support payments, pushed her income over the threshold for public-assistance programs. In other words, a little extra pay was massively offset by additional rent and the loss of food stamps and child- care benefits.
“It’s not that people are sit-
ting at home and want to be
lazy or don’t want to work or
want to stay on benefits for-
ever,” she said. “If you’re figur-
ing out if you’re going to have
your child stay in different
places that may not be safe for
them, day in and day out, then
you say, ‘well, I’m just going to
stay home with my child, and I
have to give up give up this good-paying job that I have, give up this promotion. At least until my child is able to go to public school, I have to stay home with my child and make sure they’re safe.’ These are the real decisions that you have to make when you’re entering the workforce.”
The three-year pilot program will utilize a monetary support to provide 100 households throughout the Commonwealth with benefits tailored to fill the gap created by the cliff effect as
Among those celebrating the legislation are, from left, Andrew Morehouse, Food Bank; Rick Sullivan, WMEDC; state Rep. Carlos González; Anne Kandilis, Springfield WORKS; Laura Sylvester, Food Bank; state Rep. Patricia Duffy; state Sen. Eric Lesser; Tracye Whitfield, Springfield City Council; and Xiomara Albán DeLobato, WMEDC.
they work toward economic independence from public benefits programs.
Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the WMEDC, noted that people will always make the best financial decision for their family. However, “if they went into the workplace and took a min- imum-wage job for a few hours, or perhaps took a job promotion,
their benefits began
to almost automati-
Cliff
Continued on page 50
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16 DECEMBER 26, 2022
FEATURE
BusinessWest