October 30, 2024
A SNAP Reform Framework Focused on the Future
No matter the outcome of next week’s election, we can be certain that the new President and Congress will confront urgent policy and legislative challenges. One priority issue for the new Congress will be renewing the Farm Bill. True to its name, the Farm Bill authorizes a wide range of programs to support farmers and…
September 24, 2024
Household Food Insecurity Rises Again – Inflation, especially for households ineligible for safety net programs, to blame
Each year the USDA issues a closely-followed report on the extent of food insecurity in the United States. This year, the USDA reported 13.5 percent of US households were food insecure at some point in 2023, which was a statistically significant increase from the 2022 rate of 12.8 percent and higher than the pre-pandemic rate…
September 19, 2024
Government benefit programs already do a lot to help low income families
Politicians, policy analysts, and advocates have proposed increasing the generosity of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), as a means of providing more resources to low-income families with children. Before deciding whether to expand the CTC and by how much, policymakers should be aware of existing tax and transfer policies that already provide a substantial amount…
August 28, 2024
Some Context Behind JD Vance’s Child Tax Credit Comments
Recently, GOP Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance said on Face the Nation “We should expand the child tax credit… I’d love to see a child tax credit that’s $5,000 per child.” He further proposed that the expanded credit be extended to “all American families,” emphasizing disparities in the availability of the current child tax credit…
July 26, 2024
Two Cheers for Shrinking Black-White Opportunity Gaps
The latest in a series of important reports on social mobility by the research group Opportunity Insights is out, and it’s another conversation-changer. Across a variety of outcomes in adulthood and adolescence, the gap between black Americans who grew up with low-income parents and their white counterparts has narrowed over time. This news is certainly…
July 10, 2024
Has Income Growth between Generations of Americans Stalled?
A defining aspect of the American dream is that the economic well-being of each generation surpasses that of the previous one. However, commentators have questioned whether this holds true for the most recent generations. A 2022 Gallup poll found that only 42 percent of Americans expect today’s young people to have a better life than…
March 21, 2024
Sugary Beverage Consumption Among SNAP Recipients
The House Agriculture Committee recently failed to pass an appropriations bill that would have authorized a pilot program to test whether nutrition-based restrictions in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could improve health outcomes for low-income households. This is just the latest rejection by Washington policymakers of proposals designed to improve nutritional outcomes for SNAP…
March 11, 2024
How Many Forms of “Wage Insurance” Do We Need, Exactly?
One of the most controversial policies included in H. R. 7024, the “Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act” that passed the House on January 31, is a provision that would expand the “lookback” to determine eligibility for the child tax credit (CTC). Under current law, adults claiming the CTC for a tax year…
March 4, 2024
Social conservatives who care about marriage should think twice about a “per-child” refundable Child Tax Credit
The United States Senate is currently debating H.R. 7024, a House-passed bill that would modify the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in several ways. One of the most consequential changes would increase the rate at which the refundable portion of the credit phases in, from the current 15% rate applied to all families to 15% times…
February 27, 2024
Options for Improving the Child Tax Credit Provisions in H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024
H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, passed the House on January 31, 2024 and now faces an uncertain fate in the Senate. The bill is intended to offer something for both Republicans and Democrats—business tax cuts and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC). But this bargain—which…