Dear Friend,
When President Biden and the Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan at the height of the COVID pandemic, it was a great success. The program’s child tax credit was widely celebrated for cutting childhood poverty in half.
A year later, however, Democrats failed to extend the program, and – surprise, surprise – childhood poverty more than doubled between 2021 (when the program was in effect) and 2022.
Why did our government choose to throw millions of children into poverty at a time when we had a blue House, a blue Senate, and a blue presidency? It’s easy to blame Republicans and a couple of conservative Democrats like Joe Manchin – and they are in large part to blame. However, even though President Biden officially supported extending the program, he is also to blame for not effectively trying to get it passed.
Biden and the Democratic Party use the excuse that they just didn’t have the votes, but this does not hold up. When Lyndon Johnson was trying to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, did he just give up when he didn’t immediately have the votes? Of course not. He pressured and lobbied, he worked day and night, and he used sticks as well as carrots in order to change those No votes to Yes votes. That is what a leader does. That is what I would do as president. |
We are the richest country in the history of the world, but we have a much higher rate of child poverty than most other affluent countries — and even a higher rate of child poverty than some not-so-affluent countries. That is unacceptable.
With childhood poverty being halved during the year of the child tax credit and then doubled the year after it expired, it is clear that childhood poverty – and poverty in general – is something that depends on government policy. In a country as rich as our own, poverty is a policy choice.
Under a Marianne Williamson Administration, I would end child poverty. I would declare a war on poverty itself. And if I didn’t have the votes needed to pass the programs required to do so, I would work day and night to get the votes. |
