What The Child Tax Credit Could Mean For Maine Families

Allina’s story is unfortunately, probably more common than it should be. The reality is, there are estimates that sort of suggests that it costs between $11,000 and $12,000 a year to raise a kid in Maine and New England. So when you talk about, you know, adding $3,000 into the mix for a family, there is no question that that amount of money makes a tremendous difference. And, you know, the other thing I would just add to that, Jennifer is that not only is that beneficial to those families directly, but it’s also beneficial to our economy more broadly. Because what we know is that most of those families are actually spending those dollars in their community at grocery stores and other stores that hire people in their community that has a ripple effect. Our challenge at this point is, first of all, to to appreciate that this change has happened and to make sure that the families who are eligible and again, 90% of Maine families should see some money land in their accounts in the next month or so, but also to make sure that these changes get put in place over a longer time horizon than just this current year. The reality is that even before we got into the pandemic, families were struggling to make ends meet, and this is one tool that definitely makes a huge difference.

Click here to read the full interview, first published July 16, 2021, in Maine Public.