By: Trent Chassy
Every year Congress must pass an annual budget bill through a process known as reconciliation. This year, the proposed budget has been subject to unending scrutiny and has been frozen in the legislative process.
Much has been made of President Biden’s total dollar figure, $3.5 trillion, but the programs that are being proposed are more important. This bill is comprehensive, but two of the programs are especially relevant. These proposals are for universal 2-year public college and an expansion of the child tax credit.
Universal 2-year public college
Public colleges and universities throughout the country have been raising tuition rates for decades. This has taken place for a myriad of reasons, but one major cause is a reduction in state investment throughout the country.
Without public support, an institution must raise its tuition to maintain viability. The Biden agenda is presenting a huge first-step towards shifting this economic burden off those just becoming economically active. This bill would sufficiently subsidize state 2-year colleges in order to provide a free option to every incoming student.
Although in a perfect world education would be entirely universal, this is a big first step. The cost of tuition as it stands now is an active deterrent to those who may want to pursue higher education. Whether someone simply lacks the means to pay for it, is unwilling to take the cost on as debt, or would have to work full time alongside their studies, there are many understandable explanations for bypassing college.
This investment would allow anyone in these camps to pursue education without receiving a sentence of financial hardship. Relieving financial hardship isn’t only a moral proposition, it also offers economic growth. If tuition can be done away with, working students would be much more likely to accumulate savings rather than debt before entering the workforce.
Child tax credit
Another important proposal is the expansion of the child tax credit. The child tax credit is a long-standing tax benefit aimed at helping working families. Under the Biden administration, through the American Rescue Plan, the child tax credit was increased from $2000 a year to $3000 a year for children over six years old, and $3,600 for children under six years old.
This plan enacted monthly payments of this credit, rather than receiving it among yearly tax returns. It has been estimated that this monthly benefit has had major implications on child poverty. In economic terms, nearly 50% of families with children under the poverty line have risen above this marker.
The formula for how this helps families is rather simple. The cost of living is much higher for a family than an individual. Families that have money immediately available can cope with those expenses more palatably.
Families without those resources ultimately face a tougher road which undeniably passes on hardship to our nation’s children. If we want all our children to thrive one option is to return their parents’ taxes to them monthly, so they can effectively use that money on a regular basis. Although it’s unclear through negotiations to what extent this program will be expanded, hopefully it will be sustained in the post-COVID economy.
Many bills that make it to the Senate can be subject to a filibuster which traps the bill in endless debate. Reconciliation is a process by which a bill can be passed without meeting the 60-vote threshold required to end a filibuster. However, with a 50-50 split in the senate the power of two conservative senators within the democratic party has handicapped President Biden’s agenda. These senators have expressed discontent with the $3.5 trillion number but have been unclear on what they demand be cut. So, it’s important to ask, who is it that they think is undeserving help? Their answer very well could be these college students, parents, and/or children.
