The Census Bureau just released national poverty, income, and insurance data for 2023. It’s important to understand income and health insurance trends, but it’s especially important now since Congress will take up major tax legislation in 2025.
One thing we know for sure is that when the Child Tax Credit (CTC) was expanded in 2021, child poverty decreased by 46% overall, with Black and Hispanic/Latino child poverty falling by 6.3 percentage points in each community, impacting 716,000 Black children and 1.2 million Hispanic children. The new data shows that in 2023, the CTC lifted 2.4 million people above the federal poverty line―while important, falling far short of the 5.4 million lifted above the federal poverty line in 2021 by expanded monthly Child Tax Credit payments that included all children in low-income families.
Click here to send a direct message to Congress to expand the Child Tax Credit today.
Many people are facing food and housing insecurity, challenges with high child care costs, and dealing with other hardships that make it harder to make ends meet. Expanding the Child Tax Credit fixes a major flaw in current law: over 18 million children and their families are excluded from the full credit because their parents’ income is too low.
You read that right. Families where a parent can’t work due to illness or being laid off, cannot qualify for the Child Tax Credit at all. And many parents who work at low wages cannot get the full CTC. A single parent earning $15,000 a year and who has two children, will receive less than a family with a parent who has a higher paying job. This is a flaw that does nothing but exacerbate inequity and accelerate the racial wealth gap.
Instead of cutting investments in key programs and services, Congress must prioritize funding for human needs and that means passing an expanded Child Tax Credit that reaches the very poorest households.
Click here to send a direct message to Congress to expand the Child Tax Credit today.
Take Action
Subscribe
Donate
There is a growing support for raising the minimum wage. In fact, 22 states and the District of Columbia have already enacted increases above the federal $7.25 per hour. But that view is not shared by Richard Epstein, professor of law at NYU. He was on the PBS NewsHour on…
A new poll by the Public Religion Research Institute sheds some light on what the U.S. public thinks about the child refugee crisis happening along the country’s southern borders. When asked what the U.S. should do about the children who are currently arriving from Central America without their parents, 70 percent…
There are many questions around the current child refugee crisis, including why the children are coming, what protections for them currently exist and what would happen if these protections are taken away, why additional money is needed and when it’s needed, how the public feels about the crisis, and why…
In what has become a true humanitarian crisis, nearly 60,000 refugees, mostly unaccompanied children, have come to the U.S. this year alone. This Wednesday, July 30, the Senate is expected to vote on a bill to provide $2.7 billion in emergency funding to help improve their already desperate situation. The…
Earlier today, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) appeared at an event hosted by AEI to unveil his new plan to fight poverty, “Expanding Opportunity in America.” Rep. Ryan’s plan categorizes his reforms into six different areas, a few of which we’ll discuss here. So-called “Opportunity Grants”: First, Rep….
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) gave a speech today about Expanding Opportunity in America. He talked about the need to provide individualized services to poor families, to let states try new approaches and test their outcomes, to reduce incarceration and provide services for those returning from prison, and…
The average age of workers who benefit from raising the minimum wage to $10.10 is 35 years old. More than a third of workers affected are at least 40. While many people still think of the average minimum wage worker as the teenager earning some extra spending cash, the reality is…
This Thursday, July 24, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) unveils his plan to fight poverty and expand opportunity at an event at AEI. We encourage you to watch the live stream starting at 9 a.m., and share your thoughts about what you hear in the comments section below….
Despite Congress’ continued insistence that critical assistance like benefits for the long-term unemployed be paid for by cutting something else, they continue to push money towards the Pentagon – whether or not the Pentagon wants the money in the first place. The Friends Committee on National Legislation pulled together some…
Today, the need for organized advocacy around the rights of low-income and vulnerable populations is more important than ever. There’s so much work to be done, and we all need a hero to motivate us to keep striving for justice. This year, CHN will be honoring Jim Weill as our Human…
New data released by CHN shows that, out of a group of 131 programs of special importance to low-income and vulnerable people, 119 saw decreases from FY 2010 through FY 2014 after adjusting for inflation. Ninety-nine programs were cut well over 10 percent. Only 12 programs increased during this same…
In coordination with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Oxfam America has released an indispensable tool for minimum wage and anti-poverty advocates’ tool box: an interactive map with accompanying scorecards detailing the impact a federal minimum wage increase would have on the workers in each Congressional district. But it is not…