Is the Child Tax Credit in jeopardy and how can we ensure it for future generations?
The American Rescue Plan expanded the Child Tax Credit and offered the advanced monthly payment only for 2021-22.
If parents want to continue this credit and monthly payment into the future, they should call their representatives in Congress and tell them they want to make the Child Tax Credit permanent.
Is the Child Tax Credit enough to get families back on their feet post pandemic?
It’s certainly going to help. Families continue to struggle to find jobs that meet their child and elder care needs during an ongoing pandemic.
Many low-income families are facing elevated credit card balances after a year of lower incomes and higher expenses.
Every dollar distributed, whether through stimulus or tax credits, helps families catch up on housing, utilities, food, pay down debt, and put money away for the rainy day that may be just around the corner.
Is $3,000 a year per child enough to keep children fed?
On its own, probably not. $57 per week is not a lot of money, which is what $3,000 per year equates to. But combine that with program like SNAP benefits which help lower income families pay for groceries, and far fewer children will go hungry.
The Child Tax Credit expansion is estimated to lift almost 10 million kids out of poverty, and another 1 million out of deep poverty.
The percent of America’s kids living in poverty is estimated to be cut almost in half.
Is the current Child Tax Credit enough to turn their family’s finances around?
The monthly payments haven’t started yet, so it is hard to say for sure.
That said, SaverLife’s research shows that stimulus checks helped members catch up on bills, such as rent and utilities, increase spending on groceries, pay down credit card balances, and save what they can.
It will almost certainly bring a sense of relief to people who spend too much time worrying about how they’ll pay for necessities.
Saverlife will be conducting research over the remainder of 2021 to understand the impact of the larger credits and the impact of those credits being distributed monthly.
How can such a wealthy country like America accept child poverty?
Over 1 in 6 children in the United States live in poverty, struggling with hunger, disease, difficulties in school, and more. The poverty rate is even worse among certain groups: nearly 1 in 3 Black and Native American children, and 1 in 6 Hispanic children are poor.
Children who are born poor are unlikely to escape poverty by the time they are adults. For many, it is shocking that a wealthy country like the US can have so many poor children. The newly expanded Child Tax Credit can cut child poverty in half. But, it is only a one-year expansion.
If parents want to continue this credit and monthly payment into the future, they should call their representatives in Congress and tell them they want to make the Child Tax Credit permanent.
Radha Seshagiri
SaverLife Director, Public Policy and Systems Change
Radha joins SaverLife as Director, Public Policy and Systems Change. She comes to this role with deep experience in state, federal, and international policy work, and has worked on advocacy campaigns focusing on economic and social justice.
As the National Policy Director for Tom Steyer’s presidential campaign, Radha built a bold policy agenda to address the way in which Americans build wealth, while fostering a network of supporters, organizations, and advocates committed to similar goals.
Most recently, at NextGen Policy, she worked on legislative campaigns in California, working closely with large and diverse coalitions to advocate for policies and programs that promote economic justice and opportunity throughout the state.
While at the World Bank, she worked on a range of poverty initiatives focused on developing countries, from writing research papers to organizing conferences. She helped build and develop research communities across the globe, which encouraged staff to share their findings and build collaborative action plans to address poverty.
Radha holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University, a Certificate in International Management from Oxford University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from UC Berkeley.
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