Luke Shaefer, a University of Michigan professor, told the Times columnist Nicholas Kristof that the child benefit was “the most transformational thing” in the legislation. My colleague Jason DeParle, who has covered poverty for years, wrote that “the child benefit has the makings of a policy revolution.” (Jason goes into more detail on today’s episode of “The Daily.”)Over all, the legislation will reduce the child poverty rate this year to about 6 percent from about 14 percent, according to projections by the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia. The idea of a child benefit has gained support from both progressives and conservatives. Social conservatives note that it benefits stay-at-home parents, who are bypassed by work-oriented programs like child care. And when a panel of U.S. experts reviewed the research for the National Academy of Sciences, it found that a universal child benefit would have a “negligible” effect on employment.

Source: New York Times March 09, 2021 11:15 UTC