State Child Tax Credits have potential to cut child poverty
A report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University on behalf of Share Our Strength details state options on how to use Child Tax Credits to dramatically reduce child poverty
Child allowances are a winning investment
The United States does not currently guarantee income support universally to families with children. Research finds that cash and near-cash benefits increase children’s health, education, and future earnings while also decreasing costs with respect to health, child protection, and criminal justice. Despite the initial costs, we find that child allowances are a winning investment in our children’s future mobility.
The American Families Plan is an opportunity to sustain poverty reduction
This fact sheet provides an analysis of the poverty reduction effects of a set of policy elements in President Biden’s proposed American Families Plan.
Guaranteed income can reduce poverty. Policy design matters.
The concept of a guaranteed income has resurged in public discourse in the United States as a potential anti-poverty policy. There are many ways to design policies to support low-income families, including hybrid financing models—such as tax reform plus carbon pricing—that could reduce poverty and inequality while also benefiting the environment. We evaluate recent proposals including a universal basic income, negative income tax, and child allowance, and we also show that a moderate guarantee of $250 per person per month could reduce poverty by 40%.
Eliminating the Child Tax Credit earnings requirement does more to impact child poverty than increasing benefit levels
The American Family Act's proposed reforms to the Child Tax Credit present an opportunity to transform the credit into one that works for all children, not just those whose parents earn enough to qualify. We find that the AFA would move 4 million children out of poverty and cut deep poverty among children in half. If the CTC’s credit values were to increase, as they do in the AFA, but with the credit still tied to earnings, this impact would be greatly reduced, and children with the fewest resources would again be left out.
