Widely Supported Child Tax Credit Is Associated With Better Perceptions of the Economy and Greater Trust of Democrats

By Anika Dandekar and Ethan Winter

Executive Summary

On January 15, for the first time in six months, families with children did not receive a monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) payment. As part of a survey conducted in mid-January of 1,305 likely voters nationally, Fighting Chance for Families sought to measure the political ramifications of the expiration of the expanded CTC.

These new Fighting Chance for Families findings show that likely voters have decreased trust in Democrats to support families with children when they hear about the program’s expiration. On the other hand, trust increases in Democrats when they hear about efforts to continue the program into 2022. The new polling also confirms previous polling that shows Child Tax Credit recipients hold a significantly more favorable view of the economy than non-recipients, though that gap has been closing since the last payment in December.

The Child Tax Credit has been a crucial lifeline for families, especially in the context of the pandemic and economic recovery. These monthly payments have reduced poverty. According to the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia, the first round of monthly payments kept 6 million children from falling into poverty. The fifth round of payments were able to keep 3.8 million children out of poverty. These payments have been used by parents for their children's essentials, such as food, housing, and school supplies. Democrats in Congress should restore the trust voters have placed in them to support their families by extending this widely popular and economically sound program. Failure to do so could plunge nearly 10 million children back into poverty, hurting us all for generations to come.