The United States’ poverty rate experienced its largest one-year jump on record last year, with the rate among children more than doubling from 2021’s historic low of 5.2 percent to 12.4 percent according to new numbers from the US Census Bureau out today. They’re the latest data to reflect the devastating effects following the expiration of nearly all pandemic-era relief programs. That includes the end of Medicaid rules that protected recipients from getting kicked off because of administrative errors, an end to rental assistance policies, and the restart of student loan payments.
These policies might seem like a distant memory at this point. But they’re worth recalling with the arrival of every new report. Each demonstrates what happens when politicians long hostile to caregivers, universal health care, and the welfare state, for a brief moment, acted to create powerful, federally-backed safety net programs aimed at helping everyday Americans. One of the most effective programs to emerge was the expansion of the child tax credit, which provided families monthly checks of up to $300 per child and broadened eligibility rules for qualifying families. In turn, child poverty rates plummeted; the extra income allowed caregivers to quit grueling second and third jobs; parents were able to buy their kids decent clothes and help stop taunting at school. The Census Bureau previously reported that food insecurity dropped dramatically after just the first extended payment, from 10.7 million households reporting they didn’t have enough food to 7.4 million.
But as the pandemic receded, Republicans with the help of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who in private remarks reportedly warned that families were using the extra income to buy drugs, appeared to remember the country’s longstanding pre-pandemic hostility. Their opposition ultimately tanked President Biden’s agenda, and along with it, the brief life of the expanded child tax credit. That’s something worth remembering today as the predictable crowd is likely to cry about Democratic-engineered inflation.
I guess it’s good that Biden didn’t really try to get leverage on manchin then. Its good that Biden saw all the damage manchin was doing and said “well I guess I gotta give up now”
People who really care will try everything even if it might not work. Biden didn’t try shit because he doesn’t care
So Democrats should turn into Republicans. Yup, that’ll really fix the problem! Clearly I was mistaken that the goal here was good governance instead of seizing and holding power.
Good governance is when you let your country fall apart because you’re too scared of getting your hands dirty to reign in rogue senators who are putting your country’s population at risk of starvation
Having different ideas of what constitutes being a good public servant and how to do the job doesn’t make them the enemy. Neither is following the rule of law. We can agree that more needs to be done and Biden’s not doing everything right, but not that he’s the bad guy because he’s not doing everything we want him to do.
The rule of law is a dumb concept and should be ignored. The laws we are talking about were written by monsters and no one with a soul should respect them
Republicans get things done and Democrats don’t. I don’t want dems to pick up Republican social ideals but I do want them to pick up Republican political strategies that actually produce results. Why do you want the party of the “good guys” to be so feckless? Isn’t it a HUGE problem when the “good guys” are weak and the bad guys are strong?
I don’t think that would work because republicans are bankrolled by billionaires who gain by Republican governance. Good democratic governance wouldn’t be making anyone bank so there is no reason billionaires would fund a massive propaganda network to achieve that goal.