The staggering rise follows the GOP and Manchin's crusade to kill the expanded child care credit.

The United States’ poverty rate experienced its largest one-year jump on record last year, with the rate among children more than doubling from 2021’s historic low of 5.2 percent to 12.4 percent according to new numbers from the US Census Bureau out today. They’re the latest data to reflect the devastating effects following the expiration of nearly all pandemic-era relief programs. That includes the end of Medicaid rules that protected recipients from getting kicked off because of administrative errors, an end to rental assistance policies, and the restart of student loan payments.

These policies might seem like a distant memory at this point. But they’re worth recalling with the arrival of every new report. Each demonstrates what happens when politicians long hostile to caregivers, universal health care, and the welfare state, for a brief moment, acted to create powerful, federally-backed safety net programs aimed at helping everyday Americans. One of the most effective programs to emerge was the expansion of the child tax credit, which provided families monthly checks of up to $300 per child and broadened eligibility rules for qualifying families. In turn, child poverty rates plummeted; the extra income allowed caregivers to quit grueling second and third jobs; parents were able to buy their kids decent clothes and help stop taunting at school. The Census Bureau previously reported that food insecurity dropped dramatically after just the first extended payment, from 10.7 million households reporting they didn’t have enough food to 7.4 million.

But as the pandemic receded, Republicans with the help of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who in private remarks reportedly warned that families were using the extra income to buy drugs, appeared to remember the country’s longstanding pre-pandemic hostility. Their opposition ultimately tanked President Biden’s agenda, and along with it, the brief life of the expanded child tax credit. That’s something worth remembering today as the predictable crowd is likely to cry about Democratic-engineered inflation.

  • merc@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    10 months ago

    What about John Cornyn, Kevin Cramer, Deb Fischer, Cindy Hyde-Smith, James Lankford, Jim Risch, Roger Wicker, and all the other Republicans?

    Yes, Manchin voted with them instead of with the Democrats, but ultimately it was almost entirely Republicans who voted to end the child tax credit. I can’t see any reason why he deserves more blame than them.

    • prole@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      0·
      10 months ago

      Fucking thank you. So many comments in this thread completely ignoring the entire Republican party and blaming Democrats. It’s so disingenuous.

      • Ubermeisters@lemmy.zipEnglish
        01·
        10 months ago

        That’s because hexbear users have decided to brigade this post, ergo, any chance of meaningful discussion is gone.

  • SovietyWoomy [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    There’s absolutely nothing the democrats could have to prevent this. It just wasn’t possible. If they had dared to try instead of talking about the importance of a strong republican party and the importance of compromise the parliamentarian would have immediately impeached Biden.

    Make sure you vote blue no matter who. They’ll definitely do something next time football-lucy

      • Adkml [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        01·
        10 months ago

        The parliamentarian doesn’t have the authority to do fucking anything its some unelected beurocrat nobody had ever heard of until liberals needed a fresh excuse to not do anything.

        That’s the entire point

  • Thordros [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    Joe Mansion and Christian Cinema are just this administration’s Joe Liberalman. Aw beans, we wanted to do a good thing, but this one guy is gumming up the works! If only there was something we could do…

    … like kick him off his committees. Pull his funding. Pull his endorsements. Revoke his party membership. Revoke federal contracts and close military bases in his state. Anything. Literally just change the rules! The Senate can do that!

    And that’s just moral, ethical, rules-and-order-and-norms stuff they could do. There’s plenty of evil (but perfectly legal) shit the President can do. Pull Mansion or Sinema into the back of The Beast, and show them some live footage of a predator drone flying over their houses. Remember, Obama established that you can drone strike US citizens if you’re the President!

    • spaceghoti@lemmy.oneOP
      0·
      10 months ago

      Anything. Literally just change the rules! The Senate can do that!

      The Senate can do that with a simple majority of votes. But when they need Manchin and Sinema to achieve that majority and neither of them are interested in helpful changes like fixing the filibuster, no. No they can’t do that.

        • spaceghoti@lemmy.oneOPEnglish
          0·
          10 months ago

          But Democrats aren’t the authoritarians in this country, whatever Republicans try to say.

          • Adkml [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
            01·
            10 months ago

            They’re authoritarians whenever a minority asks them to stop killing them but when it comes to opposing fascism that’s when they slap the handcuffs on themselves and insist them doing nothing is the morally superior choice.

    • bane_killgrind@lemmy.mlEnglish
      0·
      10 months ago

      Revoke federal contracts and close military bases in his state.

      These things hurt working class people, and are transparent retribution. They would hurt support for a democrat that decided to do it.

      • Adkml [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        01·
        10 months ago

        Unless there’s a contingent of people who would actually support the dems if they adopted the strategy of “literally doing anything at all to oppose fascism”

        Oh no, we don’t want it to look like we’re retaliating against fascists

  • duderium [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    I forget, is Joe Manchin president, or Joe Biden? Some liberal experts with knowledge of civics and critical thinking, please enlighten me.

    • spaceghoti@lemmy.oneOP
      0·
      10 months ago

      Today you learned about separation of powers and that in spite of what Donald Trump told you, Presidents aren’t kings.

      • duderium [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        0·
        10 months ago

        How did separation of powers apply in 2008 when Obama was president, 60 democrats were in the senate, and the SCOTUS was “moderate”? Why didn’t the democrats pass universal health care and codify Roe during that time? Oh yeah, because they’re controlled by the same white supremacist bourgeoisie that controls the republicans. Now you’ve learned about the existence of class struggle—congratulations! And you’ve also learned that you’ve taken the side of the global 1% versus the global 99%, so pat yourself on the back!

    • phillaholic@lemm.ee
      0·
      10 months ago

      Dumb. He’s in a heavy red area and only has the seat based on family name. Any other Democrat would be steamrolled.

      • blazera@kbin.social
        01·
        10 months ago

        By who, someone that’s gonna oppose all their legislation? Oh thats Manchin already.

  • Ubermeisters@lemmy.zipEnglish
    01·
    10 months ago

    Can we fucking defederate from hexbear already? I’m so tired of these tween shitheads having the worst informed hot takes and trolling. Generally, I don’t mind a good trolling, I can appreciate the humor of it, but these guys don’t have any. They’re just fucking Edge Lords for the sake of it. Be gone