Believe it or not, Democrats are still trying to pass legislation that
would make the child tax credit, which has since expired permanent.
That would be great because the child tax credit was actually incredibly
useful to American families that have been struggling financially,
it lifted half of the children living in poverty out of poverty.
Wouldn't it be so wonderful if they could just do the bare minimum,
pass this legislation and help American families out?
There's just one problem though, you know those economic populists and
the right-wing the ones who pretend like they hate corporations and they really,
really wanna take them to task.
Yeah, they're stepping in the way serving as a massive obstacle because in lieu
of a child tax credit, they would like to pass another round of business tax cuts.
Yeah, that's the way they work, that's who they really are.
So when you hear Republicans claim that they're disgusted
by corporations in this country, it's just theater.
It's just posturing because when push comes to shove, they love giving
their corporate donors all the cookies and this story is yet another example of that.
Now, the child tax credit unfortunately expired, Democrats promised to
make it permanent, but they failed to do so because there were some Democrats
in the Senate, people like Kirsten Cinema, Joe Manchin who stood in the way.
So there are some corporate Democrats who certainly deserve a lot of criticism for
their role in serving as obstacles for this incredibly important legislation.
But nonetheless, when the child tax credit was available,
when people were getting about $300 per child,
as a result of that child tax credit, it really helped families.
In fact,
there are multiple reports showing just how beneficial it was to these families.
And I want you to watch this video because not only does it profile a family that
benefited from it, also talks about some of the results of a study
into the impact of the child tax credit.
>> Since those payments stopped, food insecurity has increased by 12%.
Those payments ended because Congress did not pass an extension of the child tax
credit.
>> Kristin Olsen is a single mom to three boys.
Her youngest George is four.
>> I just want him to know and to have the same opportunities as everybody else.
>> Last year, Kristin felt like she had some room in her budget to give George
those opportunities, today she says is a different story.
>> So all of our bills keep going up, gas, utilities, water,
everything, my rent went up $75 a month in January, food.
And so then, then they take that $300 away.
>> Chris and George are among nearly 36 million families who received the expanded
child tax credit in 2021.
When those payments stopped in January, the struggle started.
>> We've been finding clothes giveaways.
>> You took advantage of some
food pantries-
>> Yeah, we took advantage of food pantries.
>> Was that your first time going to a food pantry?
>> Yes, and I've struggled before, right?
I've been a single mom almost my whole life, 24 years.
>> Can we just acknowledge the relatively small amount of money?
And when I say relative,
I mean relative to the subsidies that corporations get, okay?
So we're talking about $300 per child and
the child tax credit to be sure was means tested.
Okay, so it's not like everyone, even millionaires and
billionaires are getting a $300 child tax credit.
No, it was means tested,
Democrats did everything they could to try to get Republicans on board.
I mean, the same Republicans by the way who believe in forced pregnancy and
forced births, okay?
Forcing you to have children that you might not have the economic means to take
care of.
They want to abandon you as soon as you get pregnant cuz they don't wanna help you
with healthcare.
They don't wanna help you when the child is born with
something as small as $300 in a child tax credit per kid.
It's just so gross, but Democrats have a little bit of a strategy at play here.
We'll see how it actually works out.
But the Democrats have taken hostages according to HuffPost.
A beloved tax break for research and development costs as well
as several other corporate write-offs that will expire unless Congress acts.
Now the idea is we're not going to extend these
tax breaks unless we get the child tax credit.
Which is cute because they're kind of positioning themselves as the ones who
are taking a stand against the corporations and
the tax breaks that they've gotten.
But they want the tax breaks for the corporations too,
let's not make the mistake of thinking that corporate Democrats aren't in
cahoots with Republicans on tax breaks for the rich.
They love it because they're paid by the same corporate interests.
But if they're genuinely willing to hold those tax breaks hostage,
will Republicans relent?
Will they do the bare minimum in helping American families out with what I think
again, relative to corporate subsidies, relative to tax breaks for the rich?
It's a small amount of money but has a big impact?
Will they be willing to play ball and negotiate?
So far the answer is no, they're not interested in that.
So I wanna give you a few statements from Republican lawmakers
beginning with Representative Kevin Brady who says quote,
the country frankly doesn't have the time or the money for
the partisan expensive provisions such as a child tax credit.
You don't have the time or the money.
Do I need to bring up the defense authorization act that you
guys passed in a bipartisan vote every year with no problem?
I mean hundreds of billions of dollars year after year for the defense budget.
No questions asked, no debate, no problem, Okay, I mean, that's what the reality is,
clearly we do have the money, we do have the money and Brady is lying.
Other Republicans are refusing to even entertain a negotiation on this
matter including Senator John Thune a Republican from South Dakota.
He's actually the number two Senate Republican who said that he hoped
lawmakers could reach an agreement to extend business tax breaks.
But that he wasn't getting good vibes on a deal with Democrats because
the cost of the child tax credit was too high, it was too high.
Now do corporations, do businesses need a tax break?
I mean are they suffering right now, are they really struggling?
Do they need a little bit of cushion from the federal government
in the form of tax breaks?
I don't know, I mean, why don't we look at this next video and see how they're doing?
>> Some companies are taking advantage of expectations and
increasing prices even further than is necessary.
According to the New York Fed, the more inflation an industry saw,
the more gross profits increased.
Now most US companies are recording their largest profits since 1950.
How can companies so simply raise prices and still have customers?
We can thank in part the consolidation of market power by a few
large firms leading to less competition.
More than 75% of US industries have concentrated since 1990.
So some economists suggest that fighting corporate greed should be
part of the broader inflation response.
>> [APPLAUSE] >> Yeah, that should definitely be part
of the broader inflation response and rewarding companies,
rewarding corporations by extending tax breaks while their price gouging
American citizens at this incredibly unstable economic time is insane.
But that is what Republican lawmakers are calling for.
They're demanding it in lieu of a child tax credit, a $300 per child tax credit.
That is what they're calling for.
Hey, guess what?
Since these corporations are making record profits,
how about they pay taxes on their research and development?
How about they invest in their own companies?
And when I say invest in their own companies, I'm not talking about
corporate stock buybacks and dividends for shareholders, okay?
The idea that these companies get to treat us the way they do,
price gouge just the way they do, and then turn around and
demand more tax breaks from Congress is disgusting.
But the problem is they've captured congress both Democrats and
Republicans, okay?
They have bought their way into complete control over our lawmakers, and
that's the reason why even after making record profits,
they still end up getting tax breaks, it is disgusting.
This is what corruption leads to and it needs to stop.
And Federal Reserve or Federal data, I should say,
released by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis
shows that non-financial corporate profits in the United States
surge to an all-time record of $2 trillion in just one quarter guys.
In the second quarter of 2022 as companies continue jacking up prices,
pushing inflation to a 40-year high to the detriment of course of workers and
consumers.
Republicans look at that and they think, let's give them tax breaks.
Tax breaks for the rich way more important than a child tax credit for
American families.
By the way, as they pretend to give a damn about American families.
And let's go back to Senator Thune for a second, okay,
because Thune thinks he's pro-life even as he is fighting for
policies that keep children in poverty in this country.
He brags about this on his own website,
as a member of Congress I have a 100% pro-life voting record and
have consistently supported a ban on abortion.
For my work to promote a culture of life, I have consistently
received an A+ on the Susan B Anthony list pro-life scorecard.
I'm so pro-life that I like to push for policies that keep children in poverty.
I like to push for policies that keep children hungry in this country.
I'm so pro-life, no,
you're a pro-corporate goon who uses the anti-abortion rhetoric
to earn some political brownie points from evangelical voters.
But the second it's not politically beneficial for Republicans, by the way,
they scrubbed that anti-abortion language right off their campaign websites.
We saw a lot of that leading up to the midterms, didn't we?
These politicians are garbage, and
I'm just wondering when are we gonna take the trash out.