Publications

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.

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.

In four areas, the median hourly wage for a child care worker is below 80 percent of the living wage. Those include New York (where the median child care worker is paid 75 percent of the living wage), the District of Columbia (73 percent), Georgia (67 percent) and Hawaii (61 percent).

Of all 33 OECD countries that reported on their spending on child care and early education as of 2017, the United States ranks third from the bottom in child care and early education investment as a share of GDP.

In 31 states, a typical married couple with two children (an infant and a four-year-old) in child care spends on average more than 20 percent of their income on child care. In six states, a typical married couple with two young children in child care spends more than 25 percent of their income on child care.

In August 2021, the second round of monthly payments from the newly expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) hit families’ bank accounts. Over $15 billion was distributed to families across the United States, averaging $428 per qualifying family and reaching almost 61 million children. The number of children in families receiving the CTC grew by 1.6 million from July to August.

Communities that are digitally distressed have a high percentage of homes not subscribing to any internet or subscribing to it only through a cellular plan, and a high percentage of homes with no computing devices or relying only on mobile devices.

Research finds digital distress is correlated with race and disproportionately affects Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan communities.

Joint Economic Committee Democrats

Publications

Aug 27 2021

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

Aug 27 2021

Economic Update - August 27, 2021

Aug 20 2021

Economic Update - August 20, 2021

Aug 16 2021

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

Aug 16 2021

Fast Facts: Across Most States, the Typical Child Care Worker Makes Below a Living Wage

Aug 16 2021

Fast Facts: The United States Invests Less in Child Care Than Almost Every Other OECD Country

Aug 16 2021

Fast Facts: Child Care in the United States Is Unaffordable

Aug 13 2021

Update: New Data Show Expanded Child Tax Credit Will Inject Nearly $19.3 Billion Into Local Economies Each Month

Aug 13 2021

Economic Update - August 13, 2021

Aug 12 2021

Fast Facts: People of Color Are More Likely to Live in Digitally Distressed Communities