Good NestingAs you can tell by its name, President Biden’s American Families Plan looks to invest in households. While the plan could help families struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic, it looks as if it will keep them afloat well into the future too.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the plan’s biggest highlights, along with how they could affect your family members, both young and old.
Young Children
Children represent a family’s future. But it’s the children who can often suffer the most in struggling households.
Under the American Families Plan, a significant investment would be made to ensure children from low-income households get equal access to services that financially secure families enjoy.
For starters, preschool for kids ages three and four would be free. Parents would no longer have to worry about their young children falling behind their peers, as free preschool would give them the headstart they need. It’s estimated that free preschool would save parents $13,000 in child care costs.
However, child care must continue past ages three and four, which is why the American Families Plan wants to make it more affordable. Households with the most significant financial need would enjoy child care at no cost. Others, meanwhile, would only have to pay a small percentage of their income for child care.
Beyond lowered costs, the American Families Plan would ensure that child care would see improved quality. This would be achieved via higher wages for early childhood educators and other incentives to supply staffing.
What about nutrition? It’s another essential part of any kid’s growth that the American Families Plan will address by offering permanent funding for meals during the summer months.
College Students
Do you have teens in your home who are looking to go to college? Are you worried they won’t have the funds to do so? The American Families Plan would help thanks to free community college. And this could also allow you to go back to school to get your degree or credential.
Besides free community college, the American Families Plan would also increase the Pell Grant’s maximum award by $1,400. Anyone looking to get their degree would have a better chance of completing their studies as well since the plan would invest in improving college completion and retention rates.
Adults and Seniors
Paid family and medical leave is one of the biggest benefits of the American Families Plan. It would create a national leave plan highlighted by 12 weeks of paid leave at a maximum of $4,000 monthly.
Health insurance would be more affordable if the American Families Plan is approved. Your insurance premiums could drop, as this feature of the American Rescue Plan would become permanent.
Taxes would drop under the American Families Plan too. You could get a Child Tax Credit through 2025. It would equal $3,000 for kids over six and $3,600 for kids younger than six.
The Earned Income Tax Credit would become permanent for childless workers, which would be huge news for those earning low wages.
