Initiatives

Obama Announces Middle-Class Aid

To help struggling families.

President Obama continues to hit the populist notes after last week’s defeat in Massachusetts. In a preview of his State of the Union address, Obama announced new measures to help middle-class families. They include a doubling of the child-care tax credit for families earning under $85,000; a $1.6 billion boost in funding for child-care programs; capping student-loan payments to 10 percent of income above “a basic living allowance”; expanding tax credits to match retirement savings; new aid for families taking care of elderly relatives; and a requirement for all employers to provide an option of a workplace-based retirement savings plan. The proposals are the result of Joe Biden’s middle-class task force, and are aimed at “the sandwich generation”—those Americans struggling to take care of both their children and their parents.