There should not be one new dime in tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires as long as millions of children in America are poor, hungry, uneducated and without health coverage.

Edelman’s statement frames tax policy as a moral choice: public resources should prioritize children’s basic needs over additional benefits for the very wealthy. By contrasting “one new dime” in tax breaks with “millions of children” lacking food, education, and health coverage, she argues that inequality is not merely economic but civic and ethical. The quote reflects her long-standing advocacy through the Children’s Defense Fund, emphasizing that a society’s legitimacy can be measured by how it treats its most vulnerable members. It also implies that fiscal decisions have direct human consequences, and that government has an obligation to address child poverty before expanding privileges at the top.