END CHILD POVERTY NOW!

According to the most recent Census report ,11.4% of the population-- 37.2 million people-- fall below the federally defined poverty line. That same report also paints a portrait of a socio-economic landscape characterized by disturbingly high levels of child poverty, with Black and Brown kids being hit particularly hard. There's more than 11.5 million people between the ages of 0-18 who reside in households with incomes below the poverty line.

And while it is inexcusable for any child to have to dwell in poverty, it is particularly outrageous that poverty lands with a particularly heavy thud on the yet to be fully developed shoulders of Black and Brown kids. That same Census reports estimates that over one quarter of Black kids, and more than one fifth of Hispanic children, reside in households whose annual incomes are below the federal poverty line. The rate for White kids? 9.9%. Which means that Black and Hispanic children, respectively, are 2.8 and 2.3 times as likely as White kids to be poor.

Child poverty, then, is an economic, moral, and racial justice issue. The challenge is not to ensure that it is equally distributed amongst various groups but to completely eradicate it, and to do so now. What King said about poverty in general also applies to child poverty in particular. It--poverty-- is a manifestation of economic barbarism and, as he put it, "The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct, and immediate abolition of poverty."

All of which brings us to the focal point of this post: The importance of both critically supporting and organizing for a radical extension of the Child Care Tax (CTC) component of Biden's Build Back Better Plan.

A QUICK HISTORY

The first child tax credit (CTC) was enacted by Congress in 1997, and it provided a $500 per child non-refundable tax credit. Refundable? Yeah, you get bombarded with that word when listening to, or reading about, child tax credits. As in: "the tax is non-refundable," or "partially refundable" or, finally, "fully refundable."

Take, for instance, a "non-refundable" tax credit. That simply means that the credit is only used to offset your tax liability. Let's say, as in 1997, you've got one kid, you qualify for the $500 per child non-refundable tax credit and, when tax time rolls around, you end up having to cough up $300 to get good with the IRS. Well, since you've a got a $500 credit, you're already good. You don't owe the IRS a thing. The $500 credit offsets the $300 liability. But what about that excess $200? After all, the credit was $500, and the liability was $300. If you're thinking you're going to have a couple extra C-notes in your pocket, forget about it! The credit is "non-refundable." There's nothing coming back to you.

Using the same logic, if the credit is partially refundable, you'd get some, but not the whole thing, back. If, in contrast, the credit is fully refundable, then you'd be getting every single cent of that "excess" $200 back. Check your bank account. Uncle Sam is getting ready to drop something on you.

Since 1997, the Child Tax Credit (CTC) has undergone several revisions and expansions, with much of the changes being focused on issues of refundability, eligibility criteria, accessibility to families with little or no income (and, hence, no tax liability), and the monetary value of the credit itself. The first major legislative change occurred with The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA). The EGTRRA doubled the value of the CTC, increasing it from $500 to $1,000 per child, and it transitioned the credit from being too "non-refundable" to "partially refundable." The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 temporarily expanded the reach of the Credit to persons whose incomes were previously considered too low to take advantage of the CTC. Subsequent revisions and extensions occurred over the next several years and, by 2017, Congress had raised the credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child and, further, had increased the refundable portion to $1,400.

Four years later--and still recovering from the social and personal calamity related to COVID-- the 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARP) increased the value of the CTC from $2,000 per child to $3600 for each child under six, and to $3,000 for each child between ages 6 and 17. This was the first time that 17 year old kids became eligible for the credit. What's more, the ARP authorized the Internal Revenue Service to send out the funds out monthly. Since July of this year, eligible families have been getting these monthly payments. They'll receive their final payment in about 2-3 weeks.

All which brings us to Build Back Better:

Recently passed by the House, Build Back Better (H.R. 5376) temporarily extends the increased value of the credits authorized under the American Rescue Plan ($3,600 for kids under 6, and 3,000 for children aged 6-17) through 2022. The original intent was to keep these enhanced credits in effect through 2025 but all that got whittled down in negotiations and compromises. Build Back Better would also make the CTC permanently and fully refundable, thereby ensuring that families with little or no earnings would also have access to the credit.

CHILD ALLOWANCES AND THE ERADICATION OF POVERTY

In tracing the various tweaks and extensions to the CTC that have taken place since 1997, it's important to remember what the top line is or ought to be: These credits can play a central role in the eradication of child poverty. Studies show that

Case in point: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that the Child Tax Credit embedded in the recently passed Build Back Better would cut the child poverty rate by 40%, lifting 4.1 million kids above the poverty line. That drop in the number of kids in poverty is attributed to the combined interaction of the increased value of the credit, its full refundability and making it available for 17 year old kids. In one swoop, then, this country could take a gargantuan step toward the eradication of child poverty.

What's more, that same study indicates that full implementation of Build Back Better's Child Tax Credit would have a particularly pronounced and beneficial impact on Black and Brown kids. By increasing the credit, making it fully refundable, and then incorporating 17 year old kids, BBB's Child Tax Credit would reduce the poverty rate of White children from 8% to 5%, while causing the rates of Black and Brown kids to plummet from 22% to 13% and 21% to 12%, respectively.

None of this, of course, means that BBB's child tax credit is perfect. From my perspective, far from it. A case can be made for the need of an even higher credit--greater than $3600 for Kids 0-5 and 3,000 for those 6-17. In fact, I'd argue that the official poverty line is unrealistically low and therefore needs to be raised; we need to be harder on ourselves when it comes to drawing a line that separates the poor from the non-poor. Still, it seems straight up foolish to deny that the recently passed House version of the CTC is far superior to just about every other Child Tax Credit that preceded it. The smart thing is to defend it, organize around it, and use it as a steppingstone for bringing into fruition an even more powerful Child Tax Credit.

For this much is sure: The eradication of child poverty isn't nearly as complicated as some would have us to believe.

It doesn't require the breaking of so-called generational curses

It doesn't require running the parents through a 6-8 week personal finance class

It doesn't require a ten year plan

It doesn't require being a member a dues paying member of any institutional structure

The eradication of child poverty is not contingent upon any of this. What it requires are public policies that center--and fund-- the right of every child to be raised in environments within which they're able to flourish.

We are yet again at a point where we'd do well to remember King's words:

"The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct, and immediate abolition of poverty."

A strong Child Tax Credit can play a central role in the total, direct, and immediate abolition of child poverty.

Catch you on the flip side,

Doc Greene