It’s not enough to point to cultural changes, as too many conservatives do, as the sole cause of the decline of the family. There are also economic reasons. It’s become harder to get married and stay married because it’s become more expensive to do so — more expensive to have kids, and more expensive to move into the kind of stable middle-class jobs that so many Americans feel is a necessary prerequisite to founding a household.
A child tax credit obviously isn’t a cure-all; but it’s equally true that tax policy shapes our incentives, and affects our behavior. And a child tax credit that is not only expanded but refundable against income and payroll taxes — and therefore available to the lower and middle class —makes it easier to raise children and have a family life; we can expect to have more of that.
The family stands at the center of the American Dream. The American Dream, for the vast majority of Americans, starts with the ability to raise a family.
The Rubio-Lee plan is the right solution to pressing problems that too many Americans face and the pressing political problems the Republican Party faces.
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