Senator Joe Manchin Wants Fewer Households Getting Child Tax Credit Payments

[Person of Interest]

Democrats may have to compromise on their most prized policy initiative.


https://bit.ly/3leBQCW

[GPV]

1. Why does Joe Manchin hate kids?

[LakeArenal]

3. All his constituents, too.

[dsc]

7. actually likely no, that is the galling thing

his constituents likely do make below 50k it is the constituents of say Schumer, and Durbin et al who don't.

[karynnj]

15. If they have a threashold, they really need to normalize any threshold by the cost of living

Obviously NOT something Manchin would ask for.

[hlthe2b]

2. I want fewer Senators and Congresscritters getting their full pay AND

I'd bet I could make a better case for my "wish," than Manchin--one his constituents would favor as well.

[jalan48]

4. Manchin sounds like a 70's/80's Republican. Is this today's Centrism?

[dsc]

5. So in Manchin's world

a family of four, making $52,000, would face a massive marginal rate. The extra $2000 would cost them a $5000 tax credit meaning a 250% marginal rate on that money. Yet he doesn't want Bezos to face more than 28%.

[madaboutharry]

6. From a man worth millions and millions of dollars.

Does he get joy of making families suffer?

[Mad_Machine76]

8. I don't get why we have people fighting on our side

to give people scraps (while they live on houseboats). The sooner Joe Manchin (and Kyrsten Sinema) become irrelevant the better.

[Tomconroy]

9. The problem with means testing something like the child tax credit was recognized

By FDR when he introduced Social Security. If you restrict it by income it will be viewed as a welfare benefit and subject to attack. It will be a lot safer if all families have a stake.

[jmbar2]

10. Thanks for posting that

At first glance, I kind of agree with Manchin that the wealthy shouldn't get child credits. They don't need it.

But if having them included makes it harder to take the benefits away from the low income families, then it's OK by me.

[lagomorph777]

14. $50k is not wealthy, even in WV.

[jmbar2]

18. Not even close

I was thinking of over $400K .

[DET]

20. Interesting

I’ve generally been supportive of means testing as a reasonable way to limit expenditures, but I hadn’t considered that means testing could lead to reduced support for programs that limit benefits to low income households. Something to think about.

In any case, capping the income limit at $50k is ridiculous. That may work in West Virginia, but it certainly won’t in most urban/suburban locations.

At this point, I have to think that Manchin is just looking for ways to torpedo the bill. Between this objection and mandatory inclusion of the Hyde amendment, he is doing his best to piss off progressives.

[Tomconroy]

21. I've read since posting that there already is means testing

For the cash payments to families but I think the higher the better. Get them into the middle class so the vast majority of Americans will have a stake. We know the programs will have to be renewed, quite possibly under a republican president. Of course I think I may have just busted the budget.

[Celerity]

11. It sounds like he wants to cap it at only $50K per household, which is insanely low

If a family of 4 makes $55,000 total household income and lives in NYC, LA, Chicago, Portland, San Diego, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Phoenix, DC, San Francisco, Honolulu, Philadelphia, Baltimore, urban NJ, urban CT, Seattle, etc etc etc etc etc they are barely making it to begin with. In some of those areas they are well fucked.

[Midnight Writer]

12. The tax credit should be graduated, not a sharp cut off.

The more money in this credit, the more money will be spent on goods and services, growing the economy as a whole.

It would be especially effective in distressed area, such as parts of West Virginia.

The wealthy should support this, even if it means higher taxes for them. That money will eventually end up in their pockets, anyway.

[lagomorph777]

13. I'm sure WV voters will be delighted to hear that, when Biden goes there and explains it to them.

[Bettie]

16. Cutting this off to suburban families

will backfire big time for Democrats.

They like it, it helps especially two income families who have to find money for daycare.

[Thrill]

17. It's crazy someone from WV can have that much power

Over the other states, that’s crazy

[gratuitous]

19. Can't let the poors get too comfortable

There was a really good segment on the local news last night about the credit payments. Parents (mostly mothers) talking about what a difference an extra $300, $500 or $800 made in their household budgets. People who were experiencing for the first time in a long time (or ever) what it was like not living on the ragged edge of the economy, knowing there would be food for their kids, and sleeping better without the constant worry.

Thank God for Joe Manchin, and his vigilant crusade to make sure people aren't too comfortable with their lives, fearfully waiting for that untimely flat tire or fall down the stairs that will cause them to slip irrevocably off the bottom rung of the economic ladder.

[mvd]

22. Keeping the credit from those not working must be a non starter

There are plenty of legitimate reasons why people aren’t working.

I am not crazy about the high end means testing either, but I suppose it could be discussed.