Skip to main content

Joint Economic Committee Democrats

Issue Briefs

Aug 27 2021

Family Finances Improved Significantly After the First Monthly Expanded Child Tax Credit Payments in July 2021

Families used the first round of monthly CTC payments to pay for necessities such as food, school expenses and child care. Data from the Census Bureau show that following the first round of monthly CTC payments, the number of households that reported having trouble paying for usual household expenses declined by 2.5 percentage points. Similarly, the number of households with children reporting that they sometimes or often did not have enough to eat dropped by 2.6 percentage points.

The data provide further evidence that the expanded CTC is helping families recover from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and providing a boon to communities, generating nearly $19.3 billion in spending in local economies each month.

Aug 16 2021

Concentrated Corporate Power Is Holding Back Our Economy and Undermining Shared Prosperity

Evidence shows that increased corporate concentration over the past several decades has harmed small businesses, consumers and workers and reduced economic growth. Large corporations have swallowed up America’s small businesses at an unprecedented pace, and even as corporations earn record profits, the consolidation of corporate market power in the United States is associated with reduced investment and lower productivity.

Aug 10 2021

Protecting Renters from Eviction Can Both Keep Families Housed and Ensure an Equitable Economic Recovery

Eviction moratoria effectively keep families in their homes, and the CDC’s decision to bar evictions in counties with elevated COVID-19 transmission through October 3 will be a vital tool to protect public health. Federal, state and local policymakers must now step in with additional action to both keep families housed and distribute more of the nearly$47 billion in federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) before the ban expires.

Aug 05 2021

Partisan Attacks on Unemployment Insurance Are Nothing New

Unemployment Insurance (UI) has played a key role both in helping workers replace lost income and acting as a macroeconomic stabilizer since it was introduced during the Great Depression. In spite of decades of neglect, the program has repeatedly saved jobs and kept working Americans and their families out of poverty when they’ve lost a job through no fault of their own.

Aug 02 2021

Expanded Child Tax Credit Will Inject More Than $18.6 Billion Into Local Economies Each Month

In July 2021, monthly payments from the newly expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) started hitting families’ bank accounts. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) dramatically increased the value of the CTC, from $2,000 per child to up to $3,600 per child under six and $3,000 per child six and older. The ARP also expanded the CTC so that it is now fully refundable and previously ineligible low-income families will receive the full credit. Half of the expanded CTC will be distributed via monthly payments, helping families meet their financial needs in real time. The first round of monthly payments distributed nearly $15 billion to families across the United States, averaging $423 per qualifying family and reaching more than 59 million children.