Uncle Sam may start sending parents monthly payments

One thing that sets the U.S. apart from other wealthy countries is what it doesn’t do to support families with children. Unlike Canada, Germany and other peer nations, it doesn’t send regular, direct payments to parents. Instead, millions of Americans take advantage of a child tax credit. But, oddly enough, low-income parents tend to get less money through this benefit – if any at all – than parents who are middle-class or even somewhat affluent.

This situation could soon change, either on a temporary basis as part of the next coronavirus relief package or permanently, through measures supported by the Biden administration and members of Congress. Joya Misra, a scholar of poverty and inequality at UMass Amherst, explains how plans to make monthly payments to U.S. families with children could “signal a shift in U.S. spending priorities and reduce childhood poverty dramatically.”

Also today:

• Biden’s progress toward gender equality
• How Big Tech can clean up its act
• Revisiting the black-white doll test