RoxanneThink of some of the problems you currently have that could go away if things became more affordable. You may have issues paying for your children’s child care. You or your child may want to get a college degree, but you have no idea how to pay for it.
You may have problems putting food on the table. Or, you may be unemployed and need some money coming in to keep up with expenses since you can’t work.
All of those are common problems that many families face, which is why President Biden put together his American Families Plan. While the plan has many moving parts, we’ll discuss the ones that could affect your everyday life the most should the plan get approved.
Unemployment
The coronavirus pandemic caused many businesses to shutter. As those businesses closed, employees lost their livelihoods. Unemployment benefits helped people out of work stay afloat, but President Biden believes this area could use a lot of improvement.
Through the American Families Plan, unemployment insurance would be overhauled to prevent fraud and become more accessible. What does this mean for you? That should you ever need it, unemployment would hit your bank account quickly so you could keep up with your expenses.
Education
The cost of college keeps going up, which is probably why enrollment keeps going down. Many may want to go to college to get a degree or certification, but can’t due to all of the expenses involved. The American Families Plan would tackle this issue head-on by making community college free.
If all goes according to plan, you could get your community college degree and take four years to do so. Why is this important? Because many who go to school have kids to take care of or work multiple jobs. By having more time to get your degree, you’ll be able to cover your other responsibilities without having to pay a penny for college.
5.5 million students could benefit from free community college thanks to the American Families Plan. And students could also benefit from a proposed increase to the maximum Pell Grant benefit, which would grow by $1,400.
While free college and increased grant amounts are outstanding, you could also take advantage of retention and completion services through the American Families Plan. This means added child care benefits, mental health services, emergency grants, and more that could help you push past any bumps in the road during your college career.
Child Care
Kids aged three to four would get free preschool through the American Families Plan. Child care would also become more affordable, as families who need it most wouldn’t have to pay a thing. Others would pay according to income on a sliding scale.
Food
Do you worry about your kids’ nutrition during the summer months when there’s no school? Since Summer Pandemic-EBT would become permanent under the American Families plan, you wouldn’t have to worry anymore. Why? Because you’d get money to pay for food during the summer.
Mark Luigi Dacumos
