What do you think?
So Kerry was here in town and I didn’t get to go see him due to family demands (ironically, as it turns out, considering his discussion) and I missed a lot of the media coverage, again because motherhood kinda screws things up that way for me. Anyway, he’s got a plan “to honor work and family” and I wanted to know what you thought of it. I’m just linking to one little part of it.
And Kerry will allow stay-at-home moms of infants receive support from the tax credit. [As Rebel Dad points out, they forgot stay-at-home dads although we can assume that their sexism notwitstanding, stay-at-home dads will be included.]
– A couple earning $60,000 with two children will get an additional $800 tax cut under this plan. A middle-class family with two children paying average childcare expenses would get a 20 percent tax credit on their $10,000 of childcare expenses. That is a $2,000 tax credit - or $800 more than they are getting right now. The credit is available for child care expenses for children up to age 13, as well as care for a dependent with disabilities.
Now note the parts in bold because, dear readers, the emphasis is mine. So do they mean then that they will offer credit for childcare for children up to 13 but that stay-at-home parents will only get the credit for infants? Not toddlers? Not preschoolers? Not great big kids whose families choose not to use the “School’s Open ‘Til 6″ afterschool programs (see the link for info on that)?
It may be true that “[t]een pregnancy, drug use, and alcohol use are more likely among kids without afterschool programs” but I think they forgot something like they forgot the word “fathers” when they typed “mothers.” I think they meant to say without afterschool programs OR PARENTAL SUPERVISION. Me, I plan to be supervising. In fact, I plan to make my house teen-gathering central so I can keep my eye on those kiddies and be sure they aren’t necking down in the rec room.
I’m really glad that he’s acknowledging that parents can also do the child care and that the loss of a 2nd income is at least as a big a drain on family finances as is the cost of child care but I wish he’d think about extending it past infancy.
I’m not looking for special cuts because we’re homeschooling but most of the parents I know really want a parent home when the children get off the bus if at all possible. Not all of us can swing that though. I’m sure many would rather have an extended stay-at-home tax credit rather than an extended child care credit.
Note that I filed this under my feminism category because to my mind, our continued dependence on an industrial definition of work is hurting our families. And I believe that this lack of flexibility is rooted in our depreciation in the caring of children, which is considered “woman’s work.”
See, that’s what makes Rebel Dad a rebel; read his about page and you’ll see. But you know, it doesn’t take a penis to be a rebellious at-homer. Nope, any of us who want to care for our own kids end up finding out that outside of the mommy war bullshit magazine chatter, there just isn’t much support for being here.
(Much thanks to my beloved Apartment 11D for the heads up on Rebel Dad’s post. And for the record, I vote for Spiderman.)
I am in that weird place deciding if its time to go back to work. And frankly $800 wouldn’t make up my mind one way or the other. Even $3200 - if I got it for all four kids- probably wouldn’t make that much difference - though that would be roughly 4 to 6 months worth of what we need.
I am with you on the being the teenage hangout. We have a pool and a trampoline and air hockey and ping pong - pool table coming soon- all in hopes that our kid’s friends will find something to do and hang out here semi-supervised. But also without me in the 9 to 5 work world, I have time to volunteer at my kid’s school. A lot. The gov’t has so many free teacher’s aides in the form of parents its ridiculous- a tax credit- even a small one acknowledges we play a valueable role. Give this credit to anyone with kids 18 and under.
I am voting for Al Sharpton.
Yeah, sadly, for us, 800 or 8000 would help us make a decision…(ok, well, maybe 8000 would),
but I think it would help low wage families make a decision.
Its a start… and though I’m not a “stay-at-home-Dad” (well, i stay at home, but its in the home office kind
)… I really really wish there was more support for those families who wish to have one parent stay at home.
Now THAT would be pro-family.
I have so many mixed feelings about these and other related issues. (For instance, I worry that the push for free, universal early education programs will manifest into mandatory early education attendance.) I keep wondering, if this will be good for so many people, why am I afraid? And I am afraid. Perhaps it’s just the political climate right now; I really don’t trust any policy makers anymore and I certainly don’t think they have *my* best interests at heart.
I miss the blind confidence I had when I was younger. Back then, I always knew what was right. (Me, of course)
I think it’s a nice concept, although $800 isn’t much of a help for us - or any of the other families with SAHM’s that I know.
I am a little skeptical though. How much of this is feel-good campaign talk that we’ve all heard before, and how much of this will be real live policy remains to be seen. I don’t trust any of ‘em…Republican, Democrat, or anyone else.
Kerry’s proposed tax credit for stay-at-home moms
Hmmmm… I do have an opinion on this, as I do on so many things, but I’m afraid that my ability to articulate this opinion will be so incoherent as to be impossible to follow. Well, this blog is free to read and as you know, you get what you pay f…
Whether we trust our politicians or not, I’m not sure that’s the issue. The issue is that WE seem to agree that something needs to be done to allow for a CHOICE for all families who would want one parent to stay home, and for that choice to not be an economic burden. That means WE need to force the issue with our representatives–not just wait around and see what they toss us.
Of course, I don’t know how this is done exactly. And, as well, I’m not out there talking any reps ears off about it. But it seems no one gets what they want without asking and without a bit, or a lot, of footwork when it comes to moving the gov’t to action.
My person 2 cents.