Last spring, the newly elected President Joseph Biden promised that the Child Tax Credit section of his American Rescue Plan Bill (ARPB) could cut child poverty by half. Every Republican in the House and the Senate voted the ARPB down, but the bill passed without them.
And now we know the results: Joe was right. According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, child poverty in the U.S. dropped from 13 percent down to 7 percent. It was more for some groups and less for others, but toughly half overall lifted over the poverty line, along with their families. Joe delivered and did it for the people who need our help the most.
This is a triumph for all of us. While it’s horrible that seven percent of American children remain below the poverty line, cutting that in half so quickly is unprecedented. And it wasn’t just the children. The expanded credits are lifting many families out of desperation. Try to name another federal program with such dramatically positive results.
The Republican Party war on the poor grinds on, of course. I’m disappointed, but not surprised, that our major media still abet the Republicans. Yes, they fact-check, diminish, and call Republican lies “false,” but somehow, the Republican narrative fills the pages anyway. And if the Evangelical community isn’t humiliated by their leaders, they’re not paying attention. I think Jesus was quite specific about helping the poor. Oh, well.
None of this reduces our success. President Biden’s work helped pull many families out of poverty. Of course, that’s not the end, but it’s an excellent step, and we should be celebrating this victory.
Joe cut child poverty in half, just as he promised. Perhaps we’re not as awful as we sometimes appear.
