Happy Child Tax Credit Day to those who are able to celebrate

A tax check.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

My almost-teen son returned recently from a three-week stay with his grandparents, and at the same time our household hummus budget rose by roughly a gazillion percent to its previous towering levels. Having a child go away for a while and return is a good way to be reminded of a fundamental truth: Parenting is expensive, even for middle-class families.

So, yes, it's good news that Thursday the IRS started sending checks to families with children — as much as $300 per child, depending on their age — and that benefit will reach all but the richest families in America: The Biden administration expects that 88 percent of the nation's kids will receive the aid. The real hope and promise is that the new program will alleviate the scourge of child poverty — as many as 4 million children could be lifted above the federal poverty line.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Joel Mathis, The Week US

Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.