Democrats used to believe in a commonsense welfare system, one that offers folks a hand when they truly need it but doesn’t trap them in lifelong dependency.
The ultimate goal being that individuals who fall on hard times eventually leave the welfare rolls, return to work, and pursue their American dream. Somewhere along the way, Democrats have forgotten what then-Sen. Joe Biden rightly observed: “Work should be the premise of our welfare system.”
Today, Democrats are digging in their heels. They continue to discourage work. With a disastrous $300-per-week federal unemployment insurance bonus and trillions in new federal spending, our economy is flailing. Inflation is sky-high, and we have 9.3 million open jobs sitting unfilled. Instead, millions of able-bodied people choose to sit at home and collect welfare. The White House now faces a stark reality: The economy isn’t bouncing back.
The truth is that we cannot move forward from the pandemic until the $1,300 in monthly unemployment bonuses come to an end. Governors in 26 states have made the prudent decision voluntarily to opt their states out of the bonus entirely. Despite this turmoil, the Biden administration is now reinforcing another colossal deterrent to work, the child tax credit. The White House has designated June 21 as “Child Tax Credit Awareness Day.” Next month, the IRS will begin sending every family earning up to $150,000 a monthly welfare check, up to $300 per child. How did this happen?
Well, Democrats used the child tax credit to expand the welfare state massively. In the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed in March, Democrats increased the credit from $2,000 per year up to $3,600. It will be paid monthly rather than the previous one-time issuance that occurred after a family filed its income taxes. To compound the problem, Democrats have made the credit fully refundable, and now, parents don’t have to work to receive the monthly child allowance checks.
This endless welfare program will cost taxpayers $100 billion, and that’s just for the first year. In true Leftist style, Biden has proposed to make the child allowance permanent through his American Families Plan. That plan will cost the country an additional $1.6 trillion over the next decade. These child allowances are on top of nearly a trillion dollars per year in welfare spending, layered atop a myriad of other COVID-19 assistance programs, including stimulus checks, food stamp increases, and Medicaid increases.
Democrats should remind themselves of history. The 1996 welfare reform bill Biden once voted for brought incredible results. For the first time in 50 years, dependency declined. Single mothers, many of whom didn’t graduate high school, reentered the economy. They proudly supported their families and broke the cycle of generational dependency.
While the Left claims that these child allowances (read: welfare checks) will improve the lives of low-income families, the opposite will happen. More parents will disappear from the workforce, and more children will be locked into dependency. Democrats should stand against government programs that prevent people from achieving their full potential and experiencing the power of work.
Republicans should not try to introduce their own rebranded version of the Democrats’ tax credit welfare trap. They need to stand tall to ensure low-income people are at the center of the U.S recovery, not at the front of the welfare line.
Robin Walker is the senior director of federal affairs at the Foundation for Government Accountability.
