Which former president pitched a Family Assistance Plan to the American people that would have provided many families with children a monthly stipend?

It may surprise you that it came in 1969 from Richard Nixon, a Republican who embraced cultural conservativism.

The House of Representatives twice passed his unprecedented plan to strengthen the safety net before it stalled in the Senate. Fifty years later, Congress and the nation are again debating a major boost in government support for families with children.

As a scholar who studies poverty and inequality, I have been contemplating that chapter in U.S. history while following recent proposals from President Joe Biden and other Democrats, and Sen. Mitt Romney – a Republican – to help cover the costs of raising children.

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While the success of one of these measures or something similar is not assured, I believe that, thanks to the pandemic, there’s a good a chance the United States will finally begin building the foundation that Nixon called for and that families still need.

An outlier

The U.S. has long been an outlier in its lack […]