child tax credit
North Carolina Budget & Tax Center director Alexandra Sirota on the latest poverty data
One of the very few silver linings to accompany the COVID-19 pandemic was a significant decline in American child poverty. Thanks to various relief initiatives and, most notably, the expansion of the federal child tax credit that the Biden administration championed, poverty numbers fell significantly for a time as the federal government provided what was, […]
Child poverty dropped to a record low last year. A new report shows how to keep it that way.
North Carolina is among the states that benefited the most from an expanded Child Tax Credit The expanded child tax credit that families received in 2021 helped reduce child poverty across the country, but particularly in the South where families lack a sufficient safety net, according to a paper released on Wednesday.
Child poverty rates highest in states that haven’t raised minimum wage
Analysis shows that North Carolina remains stuck among the lowest performing states Of the 20 states that have failed to raise the minimum wage above the federal $7.25 an hour standard, 16 have more than 12% of their children living in poverty, according to a States Newsroom analysis of wage and poverty data. Anti-poverty advocates […]
Congress knows how to slash child poverty. It just needs to do it.
It needs to reinstate the enhanced version of the Child Tax Credit, which expired in January If you could prevent millions of children from falling back into poverty, would you? Most of us, I imagine, would answer “yes” without hesitation. But not Congress. For nearly a year, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have dithered as the […]
Studies show gains against childhood hunger were lost after child tax credit ended
An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association in October confirmed previous research that food insecurity increased substantially after the expiration of federal monthly advanced child tax credits on Jan. 15, 2022. The study looked at the period between January and July of this year in a series of national surveys, and found […]
Child poverty estimates point to a record low in 2021 – here’s how it could have been even lower
The U.S. government will likely report in September 2022 that for 2021 its most accurate measure of child poverty was the lowest on record. This was due, in large part, to generous government benefits. Our research suggests child poverty in 2021 would have been even lower had the government made it easier for families to receive these benefits.
Pro Publica investigation: Welfare is no substitute for a Child Tax Credit
Those in Congress who are blocking President Biden’s proposed child tax credit — a monthly federal stipend for families with children of up to $300 per child — have been making a curious claim of late. They’ve been saying that there is already a highly effective cash assistance program for low-income parents and kids: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF.
Weekend humor from Celia Rivenbark: Manchin and Sinema go on a date…
“Table for two free-thinking patriots, please,” said the genial owl-faced Senator from West by-God Virginia. “Right away, Senator Manchin. Here’s a lovely table right here…” “It’s OK, but it’s a little too much in the center. What about that nice two-top over on the right? We don’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves, […]
Boosting low-income mothers’ income increased their babies’ brain activity
Increasing low-income mothers’ incomes may change their babies’ brains, according to a first-of-its kind study published this week. Babies whose low-income mothers received cash gifts of about $4,000 for a year showed more high-frequency brain activity than babies whose mothers received just $240 a year. The Baby’s First Years study recruited 1,000 mothers of newborns […]
Biden says ‘big chunks’ of his spending bill could still succeed, including climate plan
President Joe Biden said Wednesday the climate and child care provisions in his domestic spending agenda could still become law this year, even as the larger plan has stalled in the Senate over other items that Biden conceded may not pass — such as an expanded child tax credit. In a nearly two-hour news conference, […]
Biden’s big social spending bill caught in snags in the Senate
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s giant social and climate spending bill on Thursday night appeared stalled in the U.S. Senate for some time to come, a deep frustration for congressional Democrats who aimed to pass the ambitious package by the Christmas recess. At risk also is a temporary expansion of the child tax credit, the […]