Our Colorado Senator, Mr. Bennet, is pushing the White House to make something permanent.
In the current COVID relief bill (a.k.a., American Rescue Plan), there is a section that significantly expands the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per qualifying child to now $3000 per qualifying child. And that number is bumped to $3600 if the child is under 6 years old. Yes, that is an 80% increase in the credit.
While not everyone gets the credit (if you make over $150K/yr filing jointly, you don’t get the full amount, and over $170K/yr, you don’t get anything), they also expanded the eligible ages through 17 years old.
And don’t forget – the way this program is set up (and was similarly set up before this change) is that if you owe less taxes than the credit, or no taxes at all, the government will still send you most of the credit money anyway.
And – They are advancing the credits to everyone now. People will start getting up to $300 per month per child if they qualify.
The credit increase was set to expire in July, 2022. Bennet was quick to go on TV to talk about how he is pushing to make this permanent.
Several issues I have with this. First: If someone still reports a high income on their 2020 taxes, why is this even necessary?
Second: Why aren’t we targeting this specifically at lower-income groups, whom Bennet was talking about relentlessly (while he talked about all previous cuts being for the rich, which is flat-out incorrect)? Why does someone making $150K, or even $100K, need a credit that large?
Third (and there are many more, but I’ll stop here): When are we going to stop borrowing money to send out to a wide net of recipients who, in many cases, don’t really need it? This isn’t taxing the rich to redistribute. We are running a deficit no matter HOW much we try to practice socialist economics… this is the government borrowing more money that we can’t afford to keep borrowing. For many people that just don’t need it.
Gang – this has to stop. We’re on track for $33T in national debt right at this moment. And it isn’t needed, the way it’s been designed.
