Stimulus Relief Alleviated Poverty For Almost 12M Americans

Those in favor of more government support got a big win last Tuesday when the U.S. Census Bureau announced new data that the over $400 billion in recent federal stimulus payments made to Americans lifted 11.7 million of the recipients out of poverty.  

What Happened: Social Security programs do the most to reduce poverty among recipients, but coming in second were the 2020 stimulus packages, which particularly helped children (3.2 million of them to be exact) and, more specifically, Black children, which, as a group, experienced a poverty decline of 6.8%. 

The largest group lifted out of poverty were people between the ages of 18 and 64 — about 6.5 million of them. 

Despite the additional federal benefits, the poverty rate still increased during the 2019-20 year to 11.4% — which hasn’t occurred in five years.

Additionally, the median household income dropped by 2.9% to $67,521.

What Else: Much of the additional government benefits will phase out without more legislation. The Democrats have a $3.5-trillion plan to expand government supports to students, parents and caregivers, but things like the Child Tax Credit will phase out if the plan does not pass through budget reconciliation or Congress. 

Photo: Ian Hutchinson via Unsplash.