The child tax credit payments are already showing why they should be made permanent

A girl on a swing.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

We have a new piece of evidence that the welfare state works.

The Census Bureau reported this week that the percentage of adults in households with children experienced a significant drop in "food insufficiency" in its latest monthly survey results — from 11 percent in the month ending July 5 to 8.4 percent by August 2. (Adults in households without children actually saw a slight uptick in food insecurity.) There was a similar drop in households with children that reported trouble paying their expenses, from 31.5 to 29 percent.

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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.