As legislators weigh more #COVID19 relief, SSN's experts are here to provide background and analysis. Today's thread comes from urban poverty expert Dr. Joan Mazelis ( @JoanieMazelis), author of “Surviving Poverty: Creating Sustainable Ties among the Poor.” https://scholars.org/scholar/joan-mazelis

Dr. Mazelis is available for Q&A on these proposals, so reply below if you have questions!

. @JoanieMazelis: President Biden has ambitious proposals that would make a real difference for people living in poverty, from #stimulus payments to tax credits to increased unemployment and SNAP benefits to a higher #minimumwage to housing assistance. 1/

. @POTUS is pushing for $1400 stimulus checks per person for most people, which would help those struggling to cover basic expenses. Data from @BLS_gov show that especially among lower-income groups, people spent last year’s stimulus on necessary items like food & housing. 2/

Biden proposes raising the #childtaxcredit from $2K to $3K per child (ages 6-17, $3,600 for kids under 6) and making it fully refundable, & raising the #EITC income limit from $16K to $21K, a recognition that too many people who could really benefit from it haven’t qualified. 3/

Childcare is often prohibitively expensive, but to allow parents of young children to work and have it make economic sense, Biden’s proposal increases the childcare tax credit up to $4,000 for one child and $8,000 for two or more children. 4/

In addition to income supports like the EITC, people who are out of work due to the pandemic need the proposed additional unemployment benefit of $400/week, and they need the SNAP increases of 15-20% to combat hunger as they choose between paying for food and other bills. 5/

An increase in the minimum wage to $15/hour is long overdue. Raises in the minimum wage over time have notoriously failed to keep up with inflation, but the federal minimum wage today remains at $7.25/hour, the same as it was in 2009 – making it worth nearly 20% less now! 6/

Extending the #evictionmoratorium is just part of necessary housing assistance. Some people have been evicted anyway due to loopholes, and almost all landlords who file eviction proceedings have legal representation, but a tiny minority of tenants do. 7/

Even if not evicted, unpaid rent accrues. Without rental assistance, there's no way for people to pay their accumulating rental debt. A proposed $25 billion can help renters maintain housing stability, & help landlords who can’t afford to keep going without rental payments. 8/

Not all of these proposals will become reality, & some of them wouldn't be enough. But the attention @POTUS is paying to those suffering the most is a momentous shift: it says that our society must work not just for the wealthiest among us, but for the poorest too. 9/end