美国国家公共电台 NPR--Child poverty is at a historic low, according to the Census Bureau

Child poverty is at a historic low, according to the Census¹ Bureau

Transcript²

Experts say the federal child tax credit was a big reason for the drop. The expanded child tax credit ended in December, just as inflation was starting to climb to historic highs.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

New data from the Census Bureau indicates that fewer children in the U.S. are living in poverty. But as NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports, that good news might not last.

JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE³: Child poverty dropped nearly in half in 2020 to just 5.2%. Census officials say that's thanks to federal pandemic aid, especially the child tax credit. Last year, Congress boosted that and expanded it to millions more lower-income parents and some who were not working. That included Susan Kiralis, a single mom in central Maine. She's a student, and her small business selling Indigenous⁴ crafts took a hit during the pandemic. She used the child tax credit to catch up on bills and fix up her car so she could get it insured.

SUSAN KIRALIS: I needed tires (laughter). I needed four new tires. I needed to get a new windshield 'cause my windshield had a big line in it. And I needed to get one headlight.

LUDDEN: Research shows most low-income parents used the tax credit for basic needs like housing and food and to pay fees for school and sports. Sharon Parrott with the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (ph) says that kind of support has long-term benefits for children.

SHARON PARROTT: They do better in school. Their health is better. And they are better equipped as adults to get jobs and support their families.

LUDDEN: But those monthly payments ended last year, and Parrott says unless that changes, the poverty rate will go back up sharply.

PARROTT: You know, it really shows that the high rates of child poverty that this nation has had for decades is a policy choice. It is not an inevitability⁵.

LUDDEN: The Biden administration and many Democrats⁶ want to make the expanded child tax credit permanent, but a proposal stalled in the Senate. Several Republican senators have proposed more limited ways to expand it.

ANGELA RACHIDI: What we don't know is the trade-offs.

LUDDEN: Angela Rachidi is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and says it's an open question how much pandemic aid and the spending from it played into the dramatic rise in inflation.

RACHIDI: There's many economists⁷ who believe that some of that transfer income contributed to the inflation problems we're seeing now. So there's inflation, and then there's other longer-term outcomes that we need to be aware of.

LUDDEN: She says evidence suggests a permanent expanded child tax credit might lead some people to leave the workforce⁸ and reduce employment, another key factor in the nation's poverty rate.

Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington.

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

5 inevitability   

n.必然性

参考例句：

• Evolutionism is normally associated with a belief in the inevitability of progress. 进化主义通常和一种相信进步不可避免的看法相联系。
• It is the tide of the times, an inevitability of history. 这是时代的潮流，历史的必然。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。