This report calculates the cumulative impact of major benefit programs on two types of families and how their benefits change as they move into the labor market and climb the ladder of upward mobility.
Our existing maze of family tax benefits — including the CTC, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), and head of household (HoH) filing status — has several structural deficiencies that make overhauling the system a prerequisite for any effort to boost support for families with children. The report offers several options for expanding and streamlining family tax benefits to address these issues.
This paper outlines the need for comprehensive reforms to improve the U.S. government's capacity to effectively implement policies, focusing on reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies, enhancing workforce structures, and leveraging digital infrastructure.
