Earned income credit is a big welfare payment for single mothers. It's an incentive to not get married and to have more kids. You do need a job to get the credit. However, it is easily scammed: i.e., I know women who will claim self-employment as a babysitter, say they made $5,000.00, and get a big tax "refund" check even though they never paid in and didn't actually work.
I can accept the fact that some people pay no income taxes. But how can the government afford to just give this kind of money away?