Letter: Don’t let families slip into poverty

Posted on by Letters
Graphic by Lori Deaton

President Biden has called on Congress to extend the child tax credit. I wholeheartedly agree.

In 2021, Congress expanded the child tax credit for millions of American families and sent it to them in monthly payments. Thanks go to all who voted in favor. The result was a significant decrease in the number of children in poverty. Some figures noted a 40% decrease or more.

Surveys have shown that the families spent this money on food, utilities, clothing and rent. But 51 U.S. senators let the payments expire in December. As a result, the child poverty rate jumped by 41% in January. In North Carolina, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates over 300,000 children (and their families) will slip back into poverty.

Pushing children and families into poverty is unacceptable. With all of us feeling the pinch at the grocery store, the gas pump and our utility bills, why is Congress not racing to extend the child tax credit payments?

I urge our members of Congress to immediately extend the 2021 child tax credit with permanent full refundability and to resume the monthly payments as soon as possible. This can be paid for by making the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of taxes.

— Ron Katz
Asheville

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5 thoughts on “Letter: Don’t let families slip into poverty”

  1. Grant

    I am running for 2022 Asheville city council. Thanks for publishing this MX and writing this Ron.

    I have asked City of Asheville about their lobbyist as of a few months ago and got little of substance. I think we should all see what the COA lobbyist does and we can augment what we see the COA lobbyist doing as a group of citizen experts who seek ethical governing locally, statewide, at the Federal level… and certainly more and more globally.

  2. Enlightened Enigma

    President Bideng is making sure that many more families slip into poverty, after President TRUMP had rescued them from poverty with the best economy in world history!

    Democrackkks DESTROY.

    1
  3. Enlightened Enigma

    After the BEST economy in world history rescuing millions of poverty ‘victims’ , the foolish people voted in the worst President in history to destroy everything.

    1
  4. indy499

    Sure spend a few more trillion we don’t actually have and wonder why Joe’s inflation isn’t transitory? Did anybody actually believe that nonsense?

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