On Wednesday, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) took to Facebook to rage against a poster from the Internal Revenue Service advertising the expansion of the Child Tax Credit to millions of new families, one of the many new programs created under President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan.
"Infuriating," wrote McCarthy of the poster, which was headlined "A monthly check to you." "The IRS is literally spending taxpayer money to advertise a government handout. This is welfare without work requirements."
There's just one problem. The poster wasn't actually taxpayer funded, or even released by the IRS. It was a parody mocked up by education policy wonk Tobin Stone, based on an old poster explaining Social Security benefits.
The day after Child Tax Credit Awareness Day, Kevin McCarthy unveiled Child Tax Credit Unawareness Day.\n\nTo be clear, *this is not a real IRS poster.* The House Minority Leader posted a version of an old Social Security poster mocked up by @tobinjstone.pic.twitter.com/MJVOjNsrOl— Don Moynihan (@Don Moynihan) 1624481079
McCarthy's blunder was shortly noticed by Tobin himself.
So I managed to fool @GOPLeader yesterday apparently with the poster I made. \n\nAlso, government handouts that help end child poverty are good actually.pic.twitter.com/xV2uYf23HT— Tobin Stone (@Tobin Stone) 1624479203
Republicans opposed the American Rescue Plan from the start and voted in lockstep against it. However, surveys have found that their efforts to attack the $2 trillion stimulus program have largely fallen flat with voters.
