Which, of course demonstrates why Democrats are so desperate to keep the welfare checks flowing

So-called child care tax credits expire, and support for Democrats by the welfare class drops. Democrat flying monkeys blame Manchin.

Over at AEI, Matt Weidinger points out that the “tax credit” has actually been transformed from a benefit for working parents to just another handout for all, working or not. But this is the point I picked up on:

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee with jurisdiction over the child tax credit program, released a December 19 statementreflecting his desire for reviving monthly payments. In it, Wyden noted that “Families received their sixth child tax credit payment last week, and they have come to depend on these payments.” That ably captures some policymakers’ vision for government benefits, which once provided can never be allowed to expire because recipients “have come to depend on these payments.”

It’s no secret that politicians have been buying votes by using other people’s money — the practice is as old as recorded history — but the COVID handouts bring the practice into sharp focus. Every “temporary” government welfare boost given in the past two years: double unemployment pay, rent and student loan moratoriums, and, of course, child care credits, quickly becomes “necessary”, and pressure mounts to make them permanent. As this poll shows, Democrats suffer when the gravy train is checked, even slightly, so their upset is understandable.