“In the past, we thought that the more complex things were, the better targeted they would be,” said Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, an economist at Northwestern who studied social security systems. “We’ve learned over the past 20 years that the more complex things are, the more likely people in the worst situation are to give up.”
If American parents were taking monthly deposits, they would be very aware of them – which could make programs more popular and politically durable. Currently, for example, Social Security is very popular, although it has progressive characteristics that favor low-income Americans. (Notably, Mr. Romney’s proposal would distribute the family allowance, starting in the middle of the pregnancy, through the Social Security Administration, rather than through the tax system.)
In addition, in both plans, many more people would be eligible for checks than would receive benefits from current children. Among them would be the parents of 27 million children (parents who do not earn enough to qualify for the current child tax credit), including the parents of about half of all black and Latino children. It would also include wealthy people – in Romney’s plan, all parents would receive the checks, and couples who earn $ 400,000 or more must pay part or all at the time of tax.
“It would be tangible and noticeable, and I think it is very good at making it politically sustainable,” said Chuck Marr, senior director of federal tax policy at the Budget and Policy Priorities Center. “Society is recognizing that children are expensive.”
Finally, the Biden and Romney plans would abolish the work requirement linked to most family benefits and make them available to both parents who stayed at home and those who paid for child care.
At $ 3,000 a year for parents of school-age children, the benefit would not be large enough to replace a job. But it is an acknowledgment that children need financial support, regardless of their parents’ professional status. Romney’s plan reinforces this idea by changing one of the main benefits for the poorest families, the income tax credit. Now, it mainly supports low-income parents, but the new plan would revoke the child’s credit benefit, making it focused primarily on rewarding work, regardless of the parents’ status.
“This is a real departure, and I think it is an acknowledgment that it is not your child’s fault if you are not working, and your child is definitely the one who suffers if you have no income,” said Elaine Maag, who studies politics and tax programs for low-income families at the Urban Institute.