Child Tax Credit sparks debate: Should it have a work requirement?

The expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) has already had an impact since it began delivering monthly checks to families with children 17 and under in July, with an immediate reduction in hardship. But a debate is arising over President Joe Biden's plan to extend it through 2025, with some experts questioning whether the payments could convince some parents to drop out of the workforce.

Among them is University of Chicago economist Bruce Meyer, an expert on poverty and social safety net programs. His new analysis of the program estimates that as many as 1.5 million parents could drop out of the workforce due to the payments, or about 2.6% of all working parents. 

Meyer's research comes on the heels of a suggestion from Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, that the expanded tax credit should include a work requirement. Under the American Rescue Plan, the CTC was expanded from $2,000 per child to as much as $3,600 per child, with half of the credit arriving in the form of monthly checks from July through December 2021. Parents don't need to work to receive the tax credit and its monthly payments.