Manchin reportedly refused to extend the term of the credit because, according to his private reviews, he believed that low-income parents would spend their money on drugs instead of feeding their children. *Reuter.
Lawmakers left Washington to return to their hometowns for the holidays. They are left behind a dysfunctional Parliament, a young speaker, brutal wars raging overseas, and a country with 11 million children living below the poverty line.
Indeed, child poverty in the United States has risen again after a brief period of moderation. However, Congress is well positioned to reverse this trend. In negotiating an end-of-year tax deal, members of the House and Senate and bipartisan have the opportunity to work together to reintroduce a simple and popular policy that has proven effective in reducing child poverty: expanding the Child Tax Credit.
As Nelson Mandela put it: "Poverty is not innate, it is man-made, like slavery and apartheid, and it can be overcome and eliminated by human effort." "Child poverty is not an individual choice, but a collective choice – just as we have chosen to tolerate the persistence of poverty, we can choose to eradicate it. In fact, just a few years ago, the U.S. Congress took action, and now it's time to make another choice—this time, to better achieve it.
In 2021, the American Rescue Plan significantly expanded the Child Tax Credit by increasing payments of up to $1,600, making it available on a monthly basis, and easing eligibility to include more families in need.
The results of this move have been almost miraculous. The expanded tax credit lifted 2.9 million children out of poverty, providing a vital lifeline for families during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also reducing child poverty in the United States to record lows.
This is considered by many to be one of the most successful policy decisions of the United States in decades.
However, in December, the West Virginia senator, yachting enthusiast and Maserati collector reportedly refused to support the credit measure. His rejection was based on a private view that he believed low-income parents would use the money to buy drugs rather than to raise children. This view is very different from reality, because according to a survey released by the Census Bureau a few months ago, more than 90% of families spend the money on food, shelter and school supplies for their children. Despite his state's high poverty problem, tax breaks helped more than 300,000 children in the state in 2021.
However, Senator Manchin refused to extend the plan, and Senate Republicans did nothing. As a result, by the end of 2021, tax breaks had lapsed, resulting in a sharp increase in child poverty in 2022, from 52% doubled to 124%。
Today, 11 million children live in poverty, and 19 million do not receive the full tax credit because their families do not have enough income. Still, Senator Manchin seems indifferent to the situation. But after two years of sustained pressure from activists and advocates, there are finally signs that this far-reaching benefit may be restored.
For now, the bipartisan coalition on Capitol Hill is pushing for some form of reinstatement of the expanded preferences, with a tax deal likely to be reached as soon as January. It is estimated thatThis will cost $50 billion over two years – less than the cost of four aircraft carriers.
If they succeed, it will be a clear victory for all parties. Seventy-five percent of voters support reinstatement of the credit, including 64 percent of Republicans. Even the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition called for expanded credit in a letter signed by evangelical right-wing heavyweights like Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum.
Of course, there is also an element of posturing - the letter emphasizes the low marriage rate and"Strengthen the overall family unit"But if indulging in regressive nostalgia can lift children out of poverty, that's a small price.
At the same time, other proposals across the country show a growing consensus that poverty eradication is within our reach. Last year, I wrote about the End California Poverty movement, which was originally started by Upton Sinclair in the '30s and now relaunched by Michael Tubbs, the former mayor of Stockton, Calif. Since its inception last February, Epic has conducted statewide listening tours and helped tens of thousands of low-income California children receive $100 million in funding from the state budget.
Other anti-poverty programs include Baby Bonds, which provide start-up funding to every American child to ensure they have a level playing field financially from birth. This will help reduce the racial wealth gap from 91 per cent to 25 per cent. California, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C., have already passed baby bond legislation, and eight other states have introduced legislation this year. Cory Booker and Ayanna Pressley also came up with a national version.
Anti-poverty activism is nothing new. In 1968, Martin Luther King JrThe "Poor People's Movement" was launched, which continues today by Bishop William Barber and Pastor Liz Theoharris. This year, Barber called poverty a "death sentence" and stressed that "it is not a lack of resources, but a lack of political will to end it."
By Katrina Vanden Heuvel is an editor and publisher of The Nation magazine and serves on the Council on Foreign Relations.