Michael Bennet and Sherrod Brown two Democratic senators have come up with a simple plan to cut child poverty in half by giving people money. (according to Vox where I read all this)
In a nutshell their plan would give $250 to $300 a month to a family for every kid they have depending on the age of the kid. Modeled after the child tax credit it would be broad based stretching all the way through the middle class and not phase out until incomes bumped into the upper class. It would also be indexed for inflation unlike the child tax credit it is modeled after.
Paid monthly the monies would be likely used for typical expenses.
What is encouraging to me is that these guys are thinking of ways to actually do something. The plan says nothing about Trump, there are no slogans about a better deal, this is not a plan targeted at upper middle class college grads or impoverished single moms, though it might well include them. This is a broad plan that includes everyone with kids.
Are you suspicious? You’ve a right to be, this is all part of looking to find a way to get Democratic votes on a tax plan, and it has a lot of child advocates excited, even some on the right like Rubio and Lee (Lee is the guy who wants to take our public lands). There are many other scenarios along the same vein mentioned in the Vox article and well worth a read if you are interested in cutting child poverty in half. I post this knowing that kids are not a thing on this web site, nor are working class people, but those are two things we Democrats need to deal with to start winning elections.
I’d extend the same plan to all Americans regardless of age. Send $250 for every person once a month, only phasing out when incomes approach upper class $115 — $120 thousand depending on where you live currently.
Pay for it? Cut all the loopholes. Eliminate mortgage deductions, 401Ks, tax breaks for employer subsidized health care insurance, charitable gifts, reinstate a strong inheritance tax, tax unearned income at twice the rate of income people actually work for. More and higher tax brackets as incomes increase beyond the middle class. To find out if you are middle class check out the Pew interactive indexed for your cities cost of living.