When Democrats had control of the House, Senate, and Presidency in 2021 and 2022, there was some hope that they would pass a comprehensive scheme of benefits for families with children. But the failure to pass the Build Back Better legislation and failure to extend the Child Tax Credit provisions of the American Rescue Plan dashed those hopes. With Republicans now in control of the House, Senate, and Presidency, any federal expansion of family benefits is effectively off the table for the next four years.
States, especially those controlled by Democrats, have the ability to fill the void left by the federal government and enact their own suite of family benefits. In this paper, Matt Bruenig and Kamau Chege focus on the state of Washington as a potential site of family benefit expansion. The paper walks through the specifics of how Washington could design a universal family benefit system by enacting:
- Universal child benefit that provides a monthly cash stipend for every child.
- Universal parental leave that ensures all new parents receive cash benefits to care for their newborns.
- Universal free child care and pre-k that extends the promise of public education to those below the age of 5.
- Universal free school meals that provides breakfast and lunch to every student.
Although the paper focuses on Washington, the insights in it are applicable to any other state wishing to create the kinds of family benefit systems that are found elsewhere in the developed world.