An Urban Institute study published July 28, 2021 points out one obvious reason people across the country should vote for Democrats: the economy. A new study measures vast improvements in the fight against poverty after implementation of the Biden administration’s economic measures, including safety-net benefits, taxes and tax credits, state “back to work” bonuses, and federal and state stimulus checks
According to the study, “2021 Poverty Projections: Assessing the Impact of Benefits and Stimulus Measures,” the Biden administration has already reduced poverty by half compared with statistics from 2018, and projections are that they will reduce child poverty by 81%. Given the dire economic situation after the pandemic lock-down, the statistics are especially impressive.
At the same time, the study makes poignantly clear that racial and ethnic economic disparities persist: Hispanic people are almost twice as likely as White non-Hispanic people to live in poverty—even under an administration working to shift economic realities, even today and, yes, even in America. We Democrats have come a long way in the mere seven months of our new administration, though we have far to go.
The full study is available at: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/2021-poverty-projections-assessing-impact-benefits-and-stimulus-measures. For a good run-down of the study’s findings, see “Pandemic Aid Programs Spur A Record Drop in Poverty,” New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/28/us/politics/covid-poverty-aid-programs.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage&utm_term=OZY&utm_campaign=pdb&utm_content=Thursday_07.29.21&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email