{"id":1444,"date":"2015-03-03T17:36:01","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T23:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=1444"},"modified":"2015-03-04T07:43:49","modified_gmt":"2015-03-04T13:43:49","slug":"just-say-no-to-the-parent-penalty-concept","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/03\/just-say-no-to-the-parent-penalty-concept.html","title":{"rendered":"Just say no to the “parent penalty” concept"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

which is, apparently, the new terminology that supporters of an increased per-child tax credit are promoting, per a National Review article<\/a> on a forthcoming \u201ctax reform\u201d plan. \u00a0 (And, yes, I\u2019ve put \u201ctax reform\u201d in quotes because I hesitate to apply that label to any given set of tax changes, regardless of whether they improve the system or just favor a particular set of constituents.)<\/p>\n

Now, if you google \u201cparent penalty\u201d you\u2019ll see that it was the subject of a National Bureau of Economic Research report from 2000, \u201cThe Middle Class Parent Penalty: Child Benefits in the U.S. Tax Code<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0In that report, \u201cparent penalty\u201d was used with respect to the drop-off in benefits in the tax code as one goes from low-income (receiving the EITC) to middle-income (phase out of the EITC, but moderate benefits from child tax credits \u2014 this was in 2000 to before these were refundable) and prior to the climb for upper-income taxpayers (using the concept of \u201ctax expenditures,\u201d they benefit more from the exemptions for children).<\/p>\n

I wrote about tax reform just a month ago: \u00a0here<\/a> I walked through the types of \u201ctax expenditures,\u201d here<\/a> I pulled up the legal definition of \u201ctax expenditure,\u201d and here <\/a>I criticized the concept of the \u201ctax credit\u201d and said that, no matter what you think of particular types of tax credits (for children, hybrid cars, whatever you want), you shouldn\u2019t really think of these as a part of the tax system at all, and certainly not as a part of \u201ctax reform,\u201d but as a part of government benefits.<\/p>\n

(And, for the record, I don\u2019t have objections to the general concept of a child benefit, though I don\u2019t think we need it, either, bearing in mind that the Europeans have mostly instituted this because they want to boost their birth rate, and our birth rate is doing just fine. \u00a0(Kay Hymowitz tweeted<\/a> the latest projections from the Census Bureau<\/a>; we can of course discuss the fact that foreign-born Hispanic women have a birth rate far higher than anyone else, another time.)<\/p>\n

Now, as a way of rationalizing additional benefits to parents (and non-refundable credits, the better to ensure that they benefit the middle-class rather than the poor), the forthcoming Lee\/Rubio \u201ctax reform\u201d plan tries to create a new concept, that parents are \u201cpenalized\u201d and double-taxed, for both paying taxes themselves, and raising the next generation of taxpayers, who we will all depend on to someday pay our Social Security benefits; hence, they deserve significantly increased child tax credits. \u00a0This is a bad concept, both because it just doesn\u2019t work, and because it\u2019s snaky and ultimately gives the impression that not only are Lee and Rubio favoring their constitutents, they\u2019re not even being honest about it.<\/p>\n

Look \u2014 it\u2019s true that those children, when they grow up, will be taxpayers. \u00a0And when they retire, the next generation will be paying for\u00a0their<\/em> Social Security. \u00a0That\u2019s the way it works. \u00a0But in no way am I, as parent, somehow paying future taxes because my offspring will be a taxpayer. \u00a0Making that claim is itself a double-counting of tax payments, to credit my children\u2019s future taxes back to me.<\/p>\n

I get that it feels unfair to see those who are childless gallivanting off to Paris, or going out to dinner at Cooper\u2019s Hawk rather than Steak & Shake. \u00a0Really, when I read Megan McArdle\u2019s food posts, or her causal mentions of travel and dining out \u2014 well, I don\u2019t regret being a parent but I do look forward to empty-nester-hood just a bit more. \u00a0But, heck, all the additional government benefits in the world aren\u2019t going to fund more babysitting or meals out or plane tickets and hotel rooms for five rather than two \u2014 much less can they wave a magic wand and take away the worries of parenthood: \u00a0will my kid make it through high school and college and successfully navigate the adult world?<\/p>\n

At the same time, is child-rearing really just a societal obligation that the responsible among us take on, and the slackers don\u2019t and freeload? \u00a0That\u2019s not the right answer either, even though, yes, the childless-by-choice among us freely admit that they don\u2019t want the work that comes with having kids.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it: \u00a0the role of government is not to be \u201cfair,\u201d and certainly not to make life \u201cfair,\u201d\u00a0in general. \u00a0Yes, it\u2019s \u201cunfair\u201d that the childless have a lot more fun, but someday will depend on kind-hearted nieces or nephews or neighbors. \u00a0It\u2019s also unfair that a person can spend a lifetime working at a factory that closes, leaving them ill-equipped to find another job. \u00a0It\u2019s unfair that\u00a0a single mother qualifies for welfare benefits that her married sister, even if in similar economic straights, doesn\u2019t. \u00a0All manner of things are unfair.<\/p>\n

But as long as it doesn\u2019t extend from \u201cunfair\u201d to unjust, then the proper response is to stop whining and suck it up, and evaluate whether the proposed benefit is right in terms of its overall impact on American society, the economy, and the budget.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

which is, apparently, the new terminology that supporters of an increased per-child tax credit are promoting, per a National Review article on a forthcoming \u201ctax reform\u201d plan. \u00a0 (And, yes, I\u2019ve put \u201ctax reform\u201d in quotes because I hesitate to apply that label to any given set of tax changes, regardless of whether they improve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":1450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-1444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-tax-reform"],"yoast_head":"\nJust say no to the "parent penalty" concept<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"which is, apparently, the new terminology that supporters of an increased per-child tax credit are promoting, per a National Review article on a\" \/>\n<meta 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