WHAT GEORGIANS SAW THIS WEEK: Working Families Receive Third Round of Historic Biden Tax Cuts, Local Restaurant Owner Praises President Biden for Supporting Small Businesses

On Wednesday, September 15, 91% of Georgia families with children began receiving the third installment of tax cuts from the Child Tax Credit program thanks to President Biden and Democrats’ American Rescue Plan — and no thanks to Georgia Republicans, who unanimously opposed the tax cuts. Across Georgia, these tax cuts are helping families fend off eviction, pay utility bills and back rent, buy groceries and school supplies, and cover other expenses.

Additionally, in recognition of Small Business Week and the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, Helio Bernal — Owner of The Real Mexican Vittles and D Boca N Boca in Atlanta — released a video praising President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress for delivering critical relief to small businesses across Georgia in the American Rescue Plan.

Read more about what Georgians saw this week below.

Georgia Recorder, 9/13/21: ‘Opinion: Extending the child tax credit will help families cope with life’s emergencies’

• I was planning to buy a toddler bed for my 18-month-old with my first child tax credit check. Then my car got a flat tire and that plan went out the window.
• Had I not received that check, I wouldn’t have had the money for that emergency. I was able to get the tire fixed and I didn’t have to go into debt to do it. And when the second check arrived in August, I was able to buy my son his bed.
• As a new parent, I am astonished by how many unexpected things happen when raising kids. My son had a low-grade fever every couple of months when he was teething, and I had to take unplanned days off of work. Recently he had RSV for six weeks — it’s a respiratory virus a lot of babies get, and it’s very dangerous. My partner and I both had to miss work, and it hurt us financially. With the pandemic, unplanned and unpaid sick leave is even more common for families.
• President Joe Biden’s expanded Child Tax Credit recognizes that most families in today’s economy don’t have a nest egg to cover sudden expenses. The CTC benefits 90% of American families. It’s not here to make us millionaires. Its purpose is to ease the constant stress that our kids can see on our faces when we worry about another school expense, unexpected medical bill, or illness.
• Before becoming a mother, I was a college student and ran a fast food restaurant as a salaried general manager. I left that job about four months before my son was due. A few months after he was born, I wanted to return to work, but I no longer could work a manager’s hours — and no longer was able to get a manager’s pay. The only job they could offer paid $9 an hour. I brought home around $300 a month but half of that was going to child care. I ended up leaving fast food work, and now I watch kids in the neighborhood to earn a little money on the side.
• Other than occasional income providing child care, I’m a stay-at-home mom. My fiancé is in furniture sales. Needless to say, the money isn’t exactly rolling in, but we don’t worry about keeping the lights on. We do worry, however, about the “extras” that go into raising children.
• When I found out earlier this year that we would receive expanded monthly child tax credit payments, I was ecstatic: It meant that my family was going to have some guaranteed income throughout the year and into the holidays.
• It also meant that I no longer would have to dread whatever unplanned expenses await us each month. My fiancé and I are getting ready to welcome a second child, and we both feel more confident that we can plan longer term and provide for our kids; We don’t  have to wait until tax time to get that tax credit. My fiancé and I can use these checks now to better the lives of our kids.
• In addition to the toddler bed, I’ve already spent some of the money on winter clothes for my son—toddlers grow so fast, it feels like we need to buy new outfits every other week. We also used the check to open a savings account for our son so he can be better off than we were.
• President Biden wants to extend this relief permanently. He says the country can pay for it just by making billionaires — who pay way less in taxes than families like mine — pay their fair share. Biden also wants to bring down costs for child care, which would really help families like mine.
• If we have permanent monthly child tax credit checks, families will have more flexible spending, which will help our local businesses and communities. Thanks to this financial lifeline, families like mine no longer have to worry about being one toddler bed or one flat tire over the family budget.

Atlanta Voice, 9/16/21: ‘Hutchins: Biden’s tax cuts for families has helped decrease child hunger’ and Cobb County Courier, 9/16/21: ‘Tre’ Hutchins: Thanks To Biden And Democrats For Child Tax Credits’

• As a Cobb County School Board Member, I’ve worked for years as an advocate to empower our children and strengthen our schools. Cobb County has a long, proud tradition of community, constantly supporting each other in times of need and pushing for the change we want to see in our state. 
• But the past 17 months have taken a devastating toll on our economy, and children, parents, and schools have felt these impacts the most. Families were already struggling to put food on the table, and when the pandemic hit Georgia, child hunger spiked. 
• Every parent and educator knows that no child can learn – regardless of whether they are in the classroom or learning from home — if they don’t know when they’ll eat their next meal. That’s what makes the child tax credit program so monumental for working families and children.
• This week, the families of 2.2 million children in Georgia received the third monthly installment of tax cuts from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. 91% of Georgia families with children will benefit from $1,600 in tax relief per child through December, making it one of the largest-ever single-year tax cuts for families with children. The impacts this will have on poverty and child hunger cannot be overstated.
• Experts estimate that the child tax credits will reduce Georgia’s overall child poverty rate from 13.6% to 5.9%, with the Black child poverty rate expected to decrease even more dramatically from 21.8% to 11.4% due to the tax cuts. 
• Studies show that the child hunger rate has already dropped 24% nationally since the first child tax credit was distributed last month. With 31,380 hungry children in Cobb County even before the pandemic, the child tax credits are exactly the support children need as we work to rebuild a stable environment for their education.
• Thanks to President Biden and Democrats, families that need help the most are getting it right in their bank accounts, and it’s building our economy back better from the bottom up and the middle out. 
• As a father of three, I know exactly how difficult it can be to keep your family afloat during trying times, which is why this once-in-a-generation lifeline for parents and children is such an extraordinary effort. Families in Cobb County and across Georgia will feel the overwhelmingly positive effects of these life-changing tax cuts for generations.

9/16/21: Hispanic Restaurant Owner Thanks Biden Administration for Boosting Small Businesses

• Hey, good afternoon. My name is Helio Bernal, I am the founder and owner of The Real Mexican Vittles and D Boca N Boca — two Mexican restaurants that thrive in the city of Atlanta, right in the heart. 
• When COVID-19 hit, you know, we were pretty sure there was a lot of small business owners, a lot of fellow co-workers that we had no idea what was gonna happen. We had no idea where we’re gonna head to, what we were gonna run into. We only knew that we wanted to keep our doors open, and our entire full dreams were in complete Jeopardy. 
• Thankfully, we made it through the year. It was tough, but with our neighbors, our community, everyone rallied and, you know, we were able to surpass that. 
• It was the same community that joined us in going all out to elect Joe Biden. Kamala Harris, Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock and all the Democratic representatives that helped lead us out of the economic crisis. 
• The stakes were very high. You know, as a small business owner, to kind of see that your dreams are about to be crushed…  that is something we we fear. That is something that you see before your eyes go to waste. However, because we were able to put our President Joe Biden into the office, we see it delivered. 
• The American Rescue Plan was a game-changer for every business owner like ourselves. You know, it’s able to help us not only continue to keep those doors open, but with the PPP loans, we’re able to keep all of our staff, you know, motivated, all of our staff employed. 
• And in reality, it’s our staff that continues to help us keep the doors open alongside the entire community that supports us. Given that local field of local service in your community, while the community’s locally supporting yourself, really means a lot to us as a small business owner. 
• I am more than happy to see that restaurants are bouncing back in general. Small businesses are bouncing back. To see all these entrepreneurs and go-getters to continue to keep their small doors open, such as ourselves, it’s something that alleviates. It’s something that has really told us that the game plan is changing. It’s moving forward. 
• Our president is turning the tide as a whole. He is delivering, as mentioned. We do believe the economy is growing stronger every single day. We do see that with the help of all the Democrats and our President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, it’s really made a difference for our business. 
• Having more jobs, having people with more disposable income that you can pour into your niche pockets, into your neighborhood pockets, into the small businesses such as the ones that we have, our restaurants we really strive to bring the difference and authenticity of Mexican food to our neighbors, our communities. Watching us thrive is just, I couldn’t be happier. 
• And I really can’t say that the game plan is not working. I think our economy is growing as mentioned. At the bottom line. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan and economic agenda is working.
• As mentioned, when Georgians turned to the ballots to put our President Joe Biden, our Vice President Kamala Harris, and all the Democrats stepping down their ballot, we did it with the faith and trust that these leaders would bring change. Eight months later, we’re more than sure that the Democrats are delivering. 
• They are building back better small businesses with working families at the forefront. They have delivered support for restaurants like mine, small businesses of friends of mine, neighbors, communities down the street that I’ve seen recover. They’ve revitalized our economy so that our communities are once again thriving. 
• We appreciate it. And we’re very glad to be Blue.

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