As I write at Bloomberg today, the child tax credit has lost a fifth of its value since Republicans passed tax reform in 2017 — and it is scheduled to shrink again.

The federal government’s child tax credit just had its 25th anniversary, but not everyone is celebrating. Some conservatives think it’s a runaway entitlement program. A few on the left would rather redirect the money elsewhere. Advocates, meanwhile, want to expand it — but don’t agree on how.
The critics are mostly wrong. But its supporters risk letting their conflicting ambitions obscure what matters: The credit is shrinking in value, and protecting it ought to be the top priority.