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.
We expect them to vote like assholes because they caucus with assholes. Manchin is allegedly supposed to be a Democrat and work with Democrats in Congress, but he seems to have more in common with Republicans. The only reason Democrats defend him at this point is because of their razor-thin majority in the Senate. If he switched parties or otherwise stopped caucusing with them, Republicans would take the majority and gain further control over our government. And that never ends well.
You should expect the senators from West Virginia to vote republican. West Virginia is definitely red at this point. You have a better chance of getting a Democrat to replace Susan Collins or maybe even Ted Cruz than having any other “Democrat” from West Virginia.
Yea people don’t seem to understand this. He will be replaced by someone far-right.
We get that. The complaint here is that while the far-right will fuck us over for their corporate masters, they’re generally honest about that. But Manchin’s sabotage comes from within the Democratic party. He helps the Democrats obtain technical majority in the Senate, then blocks their agenda so Republicans and trolls can say “see? Democrats are just as bad! They’re not interested in helping Americans either!”
And since the average voter isn’t following legislation and how Republicans have weaponized obstruction, they hear that and assume it must be true. All because Manchin and Sinema don’t have a problem with Republican obstruction.
You’re overthinking it. Manchin votes with Biden nearly 88% of the time. A full 20% more than the nearest Republican. The next lowest 90% is Bernie Sanders.
You’re ignoring that things usually only come to the floor for a vote when we think we have Manchin on board. This statistic is meaningless and you know it. Stop being dishonest on behalf of the guy who cast the deciding vote to double child poverty for you.
Call him out for ever bill he should support that he doesn’t. That’s not my point at all. My point is he’s not a Republican with a D next to his name. He’s measurably better than the best Republican. When he leaves the seat will go from 87% agreed to under 40% no matter what.
That doesn’t mean no one can gripe about him. Or that you have to defend him.
I’m not defending him. I’m defending the seat. People have these naive ideas that they are going to replace him with a progressive. They are clueless.