Democrats are launching a barrage of ads in Georgia and other battleground states to highlight the monthly payments for most American families with children that will land in bank accounts starting Thursday.
The ads, financed by a slate of national Democratic groups, promote the expanded child tax credit that will delivery monthly payments of up to $300 for each dependent child. It’s part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus measure that Democrats passed in March over unified Republican opposition.
“Thanks to Democrats, help is here,” proclaims the ad, which is designed to boost U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and U.S. Reps. Carolyn Bourdeaux and Lucy McBath in competitive re-election campaigns next year.
The payments are projected to cut the child poverty rate in half, putting the U.S. in league with other wealthy countries that pay a guaranteed income for children. Anti-poverty groups say the program will do more to close racial equity gaps than any single policy in decades.
Republican critics describe the payments as a resurrection of the “failed welfare system” and say they further strain the nation’s finances. Supporters say it’s a much-needed incentive to families in need. According to federal estimates, one in every five Georgia children – nearly 500,000 – live in poverty.
The incentives boost the existing child tax credit to $3,600 per child for most families with children under 6 and $3,000 for children up to 17. Families will receive the payments automatically, either through a direct deposit, a check or a debit card.
A majority of Georgia families will get the credits. Monthly payments of $250 or $300 per child per month begin today and will finish out in 2022 in Georgians’ 2021 tax returns.
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