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Conservatives are dragging millions of kids into poverty. Here's proof. (449 hits)

Conservatives are dragging millions of kids into poverty. Here's proof.

Conservatives refusing to extend the child tax credit authorized in last year's Covid stimulus package have helped drive a spike in child poverty.

By Ja'han Jones

Conservatives’ refusal to extend the federal child tax credit, a crucial lifeline many parents used to help keep their families afloat over the past year, is predictably leading to a spike in child poverty.

At a time when conservative figures are trying to score points with claims of supporting and protecting children from things such as books and masks, newly-released data poke a hole in their rhetoric.

Specifically, a study from the Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy showed stark increases in child poverty over a one-month span from December 2021 to January this year, spikes that coincide with the tax credit's expiration. The credits were included in a Covid-19 stimulus bill President Joe Biden signed into law last year. Biden wanted to extend them another year as part of his Build Back Better plan, but those hopes were scuttled by conservative opposition — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in particular.

According to NBC News, Manchin, a crucial vote needed to pass the Build Back Better legislation, told colleagues he thinks parents will use the tax credits to buy drugs.

READ MORE: Conservatives are dragging millions of kids into poverty. Here's proof. https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-...