'Try something': FDR's dictum and the child tax credit
How many of us, when approached on the street by a panhandler, have asked ourselves, "If I put a dollar in his cup, will he spend it on food or on alcohol or drugs?"
There are an awful lot of assumptions tied up in that question.
The other day, several sources reported that Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia told colleagues that he did not want to vote for an extension of the enhanced child tax credit -- a major part of President Biden's Build Back Better bill -- because the parents would just spend the money on drugs.
Was this a cheap shot from progressives for whom Manchin is their bête noire? There were multiple sources and Manchin's office did not deny it. This is very troubling.
The child tax credit has been part of the tax code since the late 1990s. Under the American Rescue Plan, the annual benefit was increased from $2000 to $3600 for children five and under and $3000 for children six to 17. In addition, the Treasury began distributing the benefit as a monthly stipend to more than 700,000 families connected to the tax system, rather than those families waiting until they filed to receive a lump sum.
However, the last checks went out weeks ago and for now the program will revert to the lower, lump sum benefit. The early surveys suggest that families were spending the money mostly on food and that the benefit had reduced both hunger and the overall child poverty rate.
It's ironic that those who lean conservative believe parents are best positioned to determine what's best for their children when it comes to a vaccine or the nature of the history they should learn in school, but that does not extend to how benefits meant to help their children should be spent - especially if they are poor or a minority.
We live in a nation where phrases like "welfare queen" and other tropes, heavily freighted with racial overtones, have had a significant impact on government policy. Americans believe in personal responsibility and have shown great skepticism toward the idea that government programs can really help or won't be abused.
West Virginia is overwhelmingly white and also has the highest percentage of opioid deaths in the nation, so Manchin's alleged comment cannot be automatically construed as racist, nor can one dismiss concerns about drug abuse. Yet the comment seems to be based on little but the most misguided stereotypes.
We live in a country where the gap between rich and poor grows each year. The top 10 percent of families hold 76 percent of the wealth. The bottom 50 percent -- 64.3 million families - hold one percent. Moreover, the ability of a person at the bottom of the societal ladder to climb higher has become harder, contradicting the fundamental idea of America as a land of opportunity or that our children will have it better than we did.
This is a situation that can only contribute to greater instability in the body politic and make us all more vulnerable to populist rhetoric about "real Americans" and other divisive notions. Policy should be based on evidence, not mean-spirited stereotypes.
Some liken the reforms that President Biden wishes to enact to the early days of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. Biden would certain envy the majorities Roosevelt had in the House and Senate.
The rates of child poverty in the U.S. are unacceptable. Faced with the Great Depression, FDR said: "Take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it and try another, but above all try something." The enhanced CTC has shown it deserves more of a chance to show what it can do
• Keith Peterson, of Lake Barrington, served 29 years as a press and cultural officer for the United States Information Agency and Department of State. He was chief editorial writer of the Daily Herald 1984-86.Share Your Memories of Arlington Park
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