In what her campaign is calling a Social Security expansion, Hillary Clinton has proposed a tax credit and Social Security credit to people caring for elderly and disabled family members. The credit of up to $6,000 would offset costs associated with caregiving, and the Social Security credit would make up for the loss of contributions when people leave the workforce to provide care.
The maximum value of the caregiving credit would be $1,200 for qualifying families and is the latest in a series of tax proposals Clinton plans to introduce aimed at boosting the middle class.
"That will help family budgets stretch, it will help seniors maintain independence," Clinton said Sunday at a campaign stop in Iowa, which holds the first party-nominating contest in February.
Her proposal would also include expanded respite care—help for the main family caregiver when she needs a break. Clinton also proposes raising wages for professional child-care and healthcare givers.
As Bernie Sanders' campaign points out, this is good as far as it goes, but "we clearly have to go a lot further than what Secretary Clinton proposes." That includes a further expansion of Social Security—benefits that keep pace with the cost of living and additionally providing caregiver credits to the program throughout a person's lifetime, including taking time out of the workforce to raise children. That's included in the Social Security expansion legislation Sanders is backing.