America


New Push for Family Subsidies to Save American Families


They want to give cash to parents to have more children and to care for them.


T BY LISA SCHIFFREN


he american family is in trouble. Marriage rates continue downward. Divorce


rates remain robust. And fertility rates are lower than ever.


Long-term wage stagnation, especially among work-


ing-class men, has taken a toll. And that makes having children, always an expensive project, harder for mil- lions of Americans who say they want them in poll after poll.


Conservatives have watched and discussed this for the


past three or four decades. Mostly, since Ronald Reagan, consensus has been that


a growing economy is the best answer to helping families flourish. Family-friendly tweaks to the tax code have been tried. But there has been more talk than action. The big exception was the child tax credit (CTC)


enacted in 1997, which now provides $2,000 per eligible child. It was originally a conservative policy idea from The Heritage Foundation. It is set to revert to $1,000 per child in 2025. Now, some conservatives are thinking anew about


how to help young Americans build and raise families. In a surprising departure from the anti-entitlement


thinking of recent decades, a new think tank called American Compass has come out with a plan to give cash to families to have more children and care for them. Many parents say they’d like to stay home to raise


their children instead of using commercial daycare. American Compass is one of several right-of-center


think tanks to advocate significant tax credits or subsi- dies for families. The Heritage Foundation and the Eth- ics and Public Policy Center are also working on subsidy policies, including paid leave for childbirth. American Compass was founded by Oren Cass, 40,


in 2020. He was the head of domestic policy for Utah Sen. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012. He became a fierce exponent of both support for families and


American Compass says it exists “to restore an economic consensus that emphasizes the importance of family, community, and industry to the nation’s liberty and prosperity.”


30 NEWSMAX | APRIL 2023


ROMAN SAMBORSKYI/SHUTTERSTOCK


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