As studies and data related to the enhanced child tax credit continue to roll in, there is now broad agreement among the public and lawmakers that this short-lived policy did wonders in tackling child poverty in the United States.

Between July and December, the enhanced child tax credits provided eligible parents as much as $3,600 for a child under the age of six and up to $3,000 for children between ages six and seventeen. This means that a $250 or a $300 payment for each child was direct deposited or sent off via traditional mail to parents each month.

President Joe Biden and most Democrats had plans to extend the enhanced credit for another twelve months with the Build Back Better bill, but for weeks Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), whose vote is key in an evenly-split Senate, has largely stood in the way.

As Washington continues to work on approving some form of the social-spending legislation, Robert Orr of the Niskanen Center suggests that the expansion of the credits should prioritize younger children.

Younger Children Have Younger Parents

“Childhood poverty is concentrated among younger children—largely because younger children tend to have younger parents,” Orr writes.

“Since young parents are earlier in their careers, they experience less stable employment and lower average earnings. Telling would-be parents to simply delay having children until their mid-30s isn’t a desirable option either. The Child Tax Credit (CTC), particularly one that delivers greater benefits to younger children, can alleviate the mismatch between the age when parents maximize their earnings and the age when they have kids, maximizing the CTC’s per-dollar impact on child poverty,” he continues.

Orr goes on to add that “few policies deliver as much bang for the buck as the CTC, producing social benefits worth up to eight times the cost. The child credit for young children is particularly important in this regard.”

Orr is also open to compromising on who would be eligible for the credits.

“While renewing the expanded CTC with full-refundability for all ages remains the first-best policy, if that approach can’t secure sufficient support in Congress, enacting a child allowance for children ages six and younger is the next best option,” he concludes.

Studies Point to Child-Focused Benefits

Meanwhile, there are plenty of other studies that indicate that continuing the expanded credits would be beneficial to improving child poverty rates.

According to an analysis conducted by the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University, about four million children could fall back into poverty without the enhanced credits.

A separate analysis revealed by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities contended that nearly ten million children could potentially fall back into poverty.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters.