S tat e & H i l l
Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
“Historically there has been difficulty in the U.S. with providing cash assistance to the poor that’s not connected to work. Something ingrained in our society hesitates to give cash unless a family is meeting goals that we think make them deserving.” H. Luke Shaefer their day-to-day experiences. Doing that work enriched my understanding of what poverty really looks like, and deepened my knowledge base to address it.” Of the child allowance, Shaefer, himself a father of two, says, “Society has a stake in making sure kids get the nurturing they need to be healthy and productive citizens, and this is a simple way to do it. Every family would get a small cash stipend to put toward the cost of raising kids. Our suggestion of $250 per child per month is in line with other countries that have this allowance. There has been a rise of in income volatility. We think this simple universal policy is the way to deal with that.” At a recent Brookings Institute conference, Shaefer and colleagues vigorously aired pros and cons of the allowance and generated coverage in the New York Times and Vox. They attracted Senator Michael Bennet’s (D-CO) attention, and, in October 2017, he and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced The American Family Act, a version of Shaefer and company’s policy in which payments were phased out for higher income families. It’s the furthest that major policymakers have ever gone in terms of introducing a child allowance in Congress.
Photo: CQ/Roll Call
Shaefer notes that many influential political thinkers are talking about the child allowance with a new urgency. Jared Bernstein, chief economist and economic advisor to Vice President Biden, said the allowance should be part of a package Democrats should consider in the near future. Jason Furman, chair of President Obama’s Council of Economic
Advisors, recently advocated for an expansion of the child tax credit to $2,000, to include families no matter their income. There is pressure from Republicans, too, and Sam Hammond, a poverty and welfare analyst at the libertarian Niskanen Center in Washington, DC, is also a strong advocate of an expanded child tax credit. Shaefer says, “I don’t think we will see a bill become law in the next two years. But I am thrilled that, over the long term, there is so much growing interest. It’s very exciting.” ■
S p otlig h t
Civil discourse Our efforts to promote constructive dialogue across political differences received a boost from U-M President Mark Schlissel in December. He hosted michael Barr —an Obama Administration appointee— and former U.S. Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) in a substantive conversation about the then-pending federal tax reform proposals.
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