Monday, April 7, 2014

Should Americans Be Taxed For Not Having Children?

That's what one liberal writer at Slate.com thinks. He believes because it is so expensive to raise a child that people with children under 18 should pay less taxes and people who are childless should have their taxes raised to cover the difference.

In an article posted on March 31st, Slate writer Reihan Salam said: "I have come to the reluctant conclusion that I ought to pay much higher taxes so that working parents can pay much lower taxes."

He continues: "Who should pay more? Non-parents who earn more than the median household income, just a shade above $51,000. By shifting the tax burden from parents to non-parents, we will help give America’s children a better start in life, and we will help correct a simple injustice. We all benefit from the work of parents. Each new generation reinvigorates our society with its youthful vim and vigor. As my childless friends and I grow crankier and more decrepit, a steady stream of barely post-pubescent brainiacs writes catchy tunes and invents breakthrough technologies that keep us entertained and make us more productive. The willingness of parents to bear and nurture children saves us from becoming an economically moribund nation of hateful curmudgeons. The least we can do is offer them a bigger tax break."

Can you get any more liberal than that? Notice he didn't suggest that people consider not having children or not having them unless the couple can afford them. Further down in the article he suggests that parents are victims because they are forced to pay not only to raise their children but taxes as well.

"While non-parents can focus on their jobs in laser-like fashion, parents are rarely in a position to do the same. Every time a sick child keeps a parent home from work, her earnings suffer, either directly, because she’s taking an unpaid leave of absence, or indirectly, because she’s missing out on opportunities to climb the corporate ladder."

So the solution, according to Salam, is to make non-parents pay more taxes. We can't have these greedy non-parents keeping their money when there are parents out there who are actually having to take responsibility for their decision to have children.

I find his sentence "Every time a sick child keeps a parent home from work, her earnings suffer..." interesting as well. He apparently believes all parents are women. I understand that in the majority of households the mother stays home with a sick child but that's not always the case. And certainly women have more income differences because of it. But the way he said it is questionable.

According to Salam, 36% of Americans currently have children under the age of 18. In America today, 47% of Americans don't pay taxes as it is. This guy wants another 36% to pay less, if any at all, and let the other 17% of Americans pay for everything. Liberals won't be satisfied until only the wealthy pay taxes in America and anyone who is not considered wealthy enjoys the benefits for free. Amazing.


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