Sweden paying parents to have kids, and we should too

Posted by | May 23, 2016 10:02 | Filed under: Economy Politics

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Universal child benefit policies are successful in many rich countries.

The best rationale for universal child benefits is that they substantially reduce child poverty.

Consider what happened when Tony Blair and the Labour Party introduced a universal benefit in the UK in 1999. The measure was part of a broader set of proposals meant to tackle child poverty, including tax credits, means-tested programs, a national minimum wage, a workers’ tax credit, universal pre-K, expanded child care, and much longer parental leave. The result was that absolute poverty fell by more than half from 1999 to 2009, while relative poverty (the share of children under 60 percent of the median income) fell by 15 percent; things got dramatically better for the poor, but because the middle class gained too the relative poverty fall was smaller…

A $2,500 per child benefit in the US would cut the number of children in poverty from 12.2 million to 8.4 million, a drop of nearly a third. A $4,000 benefit would cut the number to 5.8 million, getting the child poverty rate below 10 percent for the first time in American history. It wouldn’t be cheap — the pricier option would cost $202.9 billion a year on top of the existing cost of the child tax credit — but the benefits would be enormous. Child poverty costs the US an estimated $500 billion a year through reduced adult earnings, increased crime, poorer health, and so on. Fighting it is not just the right thing to do; it’s the financially prudent thing as well.

 

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Copyright 2016 Liberaland
By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.

10 responses to Sweden paying parents to have kids, and we should too

  1. Buford2k11 May 23rd, 2016 at 10:18

    Conservative Republicans…are a blight upon our Nation…

    • amersham46 May 23rd, 2016 at 16:37

      a blight upon humanity

  2. fahvel May 23rd, 2016 at 11:45

    sure, great idea, more kids, more refused for assistance. damnn stupid idea for the usa where there is no real social attitude.

  3. amersham46 May 23rd, 2016 at 11:54

    A progressive move for the poor and middle class , the GOP will die first

    • DogsRgoodpeople May 23rd, 2016 at 12:08

      let’s shoot for that.

  4. whatthe46 May 23rd, 2016 at 12:16

    Ha! The repukes don’t give a damn about children in this country. They are. Guano fits over Obamacare.

    • Bunya May 23rd, 2016 at 13:53

      Well, the repukes don’t give a damn about children in this country – until they reach military age. Then they’re just what they’re looking for.
      I can’t take credit for that line. It was one of the late, great, George Carlin’s greatest.

      • whatthe46 May 23rd, 2016 at 14:38

        That’s ok. When it’s the truth, it bares repeating

  5. Dwendt44 May 23rd, 2016 at 12:27

    Aren’t there enough people in the world now? If this encourages people to have MORE children, then it’s not a good idea. If it just improves the lives of those children already here, more power to them.

  6. CHOCOL8MILK May 23rd, 2016 at 18:03

    A government paying people to have sex? Nice.

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