By CAP Action War Room

Harnessing The Child Tax Credit As A Tool To Invest In The Next Generation

It’s no secret that middle-class Americans are being squeezed. The price tag on middle-class economic security has grown significantly in recent years thanks to a dramatic increase in costs associated with a middle-class lifestyle such as housing, health care, college savings, and retirement savings. The combination of rising costs and stagnant wages has left millions of American families strained. American families with kids are the most likely to be struggling—child related costs account for nearly 70 percent of the rising costs associated with being in the middle class. Moreover, the costs of child poverty are staggering, costing the U.S. economy $672 billion a year–or nearly 4 percent of GDP–in lower educational outcomes, higher health costs, and increased spending on criminal justice.

But a new report from the Center for American Progress outlines how policy makers can help relieve the middle-class squeeze by strengthening the Child Tax Credit (CTC). The current CTC has several limitations that affect the families who need it most. For example, the credit is not fully refundable, preventing it from reaching the lowest-income children, and its minimum earnings requirement excludes many families who experience job loss. Our colleagues at CAP have suggested a few key proposals to strengthen this important credit:

• Making permanent the improvements to the CTC and Earned Income Tax Credit is slated to expire at the end of 2017, as failure to do so would push nearly 8 million children into or more deeply into poverty.
• Eliminating the minimum earnings requirements and making the credit fully refundable to ensure it reaches all low- and moderate-income families with children.
• Indexing the value of the credit to inflation so that it does not continue to lose value over time even as the costs of reaching or staying in the middle class are rising.
• Enhancing the CTC with a supplemental Young Child Tax Credit of $125 a month for children under the age of 3. The Young Child Tax Credit would be made available to families on a monthly basis with the understanding that many child-related costs cannot wait until tax season.

These changes would not only help parents afford necessities associated with raising young children like buying diapers, car seats, and cribs, but they would also help parents meet the rising costs of middle-class economic security.

The birth of a child is one of the leading triggers of poverty in the United States, so families with young children are particularly at risk. Furthermore, the effect of poverty on young children is hugely detrimental: ongoing economic instability hurts children’s long-term health, educational, and employment outcomes. But enhancing the CTC would go a long way in alleviating child poverty. Along with the report, CAP also released an interactive map that shows just how much the depth of child poverty would be reduced in each state with the proposed reforms to the Child Tax Credit. Check it out!

BOTTOM LINE: Americans are being squeezed by the rising price tag of middle-class economic security, and families with children are the most likely to be struggling. The United States has shockingly high levels of child poverty, but making a few basic changes to strengthen the Child Tax Credit would help families better invest in the next generation and lessen the depth of child poverty.

Delta, United, and American Airlines have all banned the shipment of hunting trophies. Now I am asking that FedEx, the largest shipping company in the world, join the movement and commit to a similar ban.

did you see President Obama’s letter to the editor in the New York Times? It was inspiring. Will you sign the petition and DEMAND that Congress restore the Voting Rights Act? ***





SIGN ON HERE: https://action.dccc.org/2015-protect-voting-rights

Thanks,

DCCC

By CAP Action War Room

U.S. Students Perform Far Below The World Average In Math, And Common Core Can Help

Today, American high school students perform far below the international average in math, despite the subject’s increasing importance for success in a 21st century economy. A new report from the Center for American Progress outlines how conceptual math, a piece of the Common Core standards, better prepares students for using math in real-world situations by not only teaching students procedures for doing math problems—like “carrying the 1”—but also how and why those procedures work.

Common Core standards add conceptual math to the traditional procedural way math is taught, allowing students to gain mathematical fluency and skill proficiency. CAP’s report outlines a few key ways conceptual math leads to improved outcomes for students:

• Traditional math instruction focuses on rote memorization and glosses over the concepts that underlie math. Without a deep understanding of mathematical concepts, American students are not well prepared to problem solve effectively in order to apply their skills in real-world situations.
• Students who learn conceptual math outperform students who are taught to use the traditional algorithmic approach.
• In order to achieve mathematical fluency, students must learn to make connections and draw conclusions from new material. Conceptual math teaches the concepts underlying mathematical procedures, allowing students to do this.

By incorporating a stronger focus on concepts that build understanding behind math formulas and processes, students will be better prepared for a 21st century workforce that relies on problem solving and critical thinking skills. Our colleagues at CAP recommend a few steps that states and school districts can take to ensure the continued transition to higher math standards is successful. For example, states should stay the course with Common Core standards and aligned assessments, and districts should offer additional professional development opportunities for teachers and communicate regularly with parents.

Some experienced leaders and policy makers have joined on to support these recommendations. Gov. Jack Markell (D-DE) and former Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) took to twitter today to show the importance of this effort. For more detailed recommendations, read the full report here.

BOTTOM LINE: Math matters and our public K-12 schools are not preparing students to compete in today’s economy. But staying the course with Common Core standards and transitioning to conceptual math will better prepare students for using math in real-world situations.