Lower income families can barely meet their day to day living expenses. We live from payday to payday. God forbid if we lose work from being sick and receive a less than 80 hour paycheck. We are one paycheck from being homeless.
The most important worry we have is providing for our children; housing, clothing, food and an education!!! Yet, each pay is only enough or, in some cases, not enough to get by. There are no extra monies to put in a savings account for college expenses.
I remember when my son asked me, why didn't I plan for his college education. I will never forget his look of disappointment. When I knew in my heart how many times I tried to put money aside. I put it in a savings account, only later to have to remove the money to pay for a household bill.
We the lower income society need this American Opportunity Tax Credit to become a permanent enactment.
Loving PA mother of a disappointed child ==================================================
There's a disconnect between the way policymakers (budget analysts, bureaucrats, and legislators) view that $2500 college tax credit, and the way average workers look at it. A policymaker, whose children go to $45,000 a year schools, reasons that that amount of money won't really make a difference to an individual, but given to the government by millions of people, it adds up to a nice program or two.
But to the average worker, $2500 a year really can be the difference between going to college (community or state school) and missing out entirely.
