Op-ed pick: Tax the childless
A recent op-ed piece in Slate argues that we should raise taxes on childless working professionals in order to give working parents a break. Author Reihan Salam, childless himself, says the financial burden of raising a child is staggering.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has found that raising a child born in 2012 will cost a middle-income family a cumulative total of $301,970 over 18 years.
And beyond the cost, Salam argues that raising America's future generations of workers is reason enough to cut these parents a break.
Raising taxes on nonparents could even the score a bit, tilting the balance ever so slightly in favor of those who toil on behalf of America’s future workforce by wiping their butts and painstakingly removing their head lice.
So what do you think? Does raising a child entitle you to lower taxes, or would we simply be punishing people who choose not to reproduce?
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