Dear friend,
In March, President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act—a $1.9 trillion stimulus package designed to ease the financial stresses imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and provide our communities with a path toward economic recovery.1 Along with $1,400 stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits, this allowed for an expanded Child Tax Credit to provide households with $300 a month per child from now until December 15.2
And last Thursday, when some 35 million Americans received their first monthly payment, the vast majority used it to cover basic living expenses (e.g., rent, utilities, clothing).3What this shows us, dear friend, is that the Child Tax Credit doesn’t have to be the ceiling for direct payments. As we approach the July 31 expiration date of the national eviction moratorium and federal agencies anticipate unprecedented price surges on food and other basic necessities, it’s critical that along with the Child Tax Credit, other forms of direct cash relief do not end here.
TELL CONGRESS TO MAKE THE CHILD TAX CREDIT AND DIRECT CASH RELIEF PAYMENTS PERMANENT!
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Black communities were hit hardest by the economic downturn. Black workers were laid off at more than twice the rate of white workers (24% compared to 11%), and Black households were more likely than white ones to experience cuts in hours or pay (44% compared to 38%).4 And while white Americans have regained roughly two-thirds of their initial job losses, Black workers have recovered only slightlymore than half. That’s why we need permanent automatic stabilizers—spending or tax cushions that provide additional support to families and the economy during recessions and downturns (e.g., unemployment insurance, stimulus checks, SNAP benefits).
When the unemployment rate increases, SNAP payments and unemployment insurance would expand as people lose income. And once legislators agree in advance under which conditions automatic stabilizers will be implemented, the program will remain, without any needed extensions or renewals. Throughout the pandemic, stimulus payments were few and far between, and lawmakers too often debated whether to provide vulnerable communities with much-needed relief.5 So, dear friend, we must demand that the U.S. Congress implement automatic stabilizers and actively work to ensure that no one teeters on the edge of hunger, homelessness, and despair beyond here and now.
AUTOMATIC STABILIZERS ARE NEEDED TO ENSURE THAT ALL FAMILIES CAN SURVIVE ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS!
Until justice is real,
The Color Of Change Team.
References :
- Grace Segers, “Biden signs $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, American Rescue Plan, into law,” CBS News, March 12, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/315045?t=10&akid=51623%2E1942551%2ELFSjVq.
- Aimee Picchi, “Child Tax Credit 2021 : Here’s how families say they’ll use ‘basic income for kids’,” CBS News, July 16, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/315046?t=12&akid=51623%2E1942551%2ELFSjVq.
- Ibid.
- Lance Lambert, “A double-digit unemployment rate is the norm for Black Americans and a rarity for white Americans,” Fortune, July 6, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/315047?t=14&akid=51623%2E1942551%2ELFSjVq; Jonnelle Marte, “Coronavirus-related job losses hit U.S. Black, Hispanic families hardest, studies find,” Reuters, April 21, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/315048?t=16&akid=51623%2E1942551%2ELFSjVq.
- Jay C. Shambaugh, “The Role of Automatic Stabilizers in Fighting Recessions,” EconoFact, October 13, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/315049?t=18&akid=51623%2E1942551%2ELFSjVq.
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Please help keep our movement strong.
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