While Carrie Lukas, president of the Independent Women's Forum (IWF), says intentions may be good, she worries that people are increasingly getting used to having regular payments from the government.
"There's a lot of folks out there who are going to become accustomed to this, and at some point we've got to figure out who is paying for this," she comments. "The truth is that we all are."
Lukas acknowledges that the money comes at a time when the costs of gasoline, groceries, and other items are rising.
"I'm a mom of five, and if someone sends me a check for $300 or $900, I'm definitely going to say, 'Boy, I know a million ways I can use this!' And that's what makes this really hard," says Lukas. "A lot of people may think that they can take this money now, and they're going to be surprised when, come April … that tax refund may not be there, or they may find that they owe more in taxes because they've been taking this out."
So she says there is reason to be cautious about receiving the money.
The first advanced child tax credit payment has already been made to qualifying households. Those who are eligible but wish to unenroll do have the option on the IRS website, although some readers tell One News Now that it has not been an easy process. Others have stated they were unable to unenroll.