Critics say that instead of giving low-income families more money through the Child Tax Credit, policymakers should help them earn more money and become financially independent by putting in place policies that help people learn new skills, lower penalties for getting married, and promote moving up in the job market.
Reforming the Child Tax Credit
According to the report of The New York Sun, in recent debates a lot of people are interested in Vice President Kamala Harris’s plan to make changes to the Child Tax Credit. She wants to raise the credit to $6,000 for babies and $3,600 for kids older than that. This is because some people are worried that the current $2,000 per child credit doesn’t help low-income families very much.
Critics including Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance argue that this increase might make things worse because low-income families already get a lot of government help. Vance wants to fix what he sees as an unfair system by giving all children a $5,000 tax credit.
Low-income people can make a lot more money with help from the government, like food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit. For instance, a family that makes $20,000 a year can get more than $75,000 in help, which includes health insurance, help with rent, and other things.
This amount of help is a lot more than what middle-class families get, even though those families make more money. Families in the middle class mostly get help from tax credits that lower their federal taxes. Other government programs help them less.
From Handouts to Economic Empowerment
Some people say that just giving more money might not be the best answer. They think we should instead help low-income people make more money so they don’t need as much help from the government.
Instead of just giving people more money, policies that help them learn new skills, make marriage less of a crime, and support going up the income ladder might be better ways to fight poverty. We can help low-income families become financially independent and need less government help by giving them better job skills, getting rid of barriers to higher pay, and helping families stay together.