The Way Forward on Poverty
Happy Monday, and thanks for reading.
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Sort of a surprising Super Bowl last night. I’m not shocked that Tampa Bay won, but definitely surprised that they dominated in the fashion they did.
On to the news…
In response to the Biden’s administration plans for COVID related economic stimulus, Senator Mitt Romney offered his own proposal last week: direct payments to families with children. The basic plan is up to $4200 annually per kid up to age 5, and up to $3000 per kid annually up to age 17. The plan would drastically change a good deal of federal welfare in order to pay for these payments, and conservatives are already engaged in some intense debate over the plan.
This piece from Ramesh Ponnuru argues in favor of the plan as a means of both alleviating child poverty but also increasing the incentives for child bearing. (Did you know America’s birth rate is alarmingly low? It is! Ross Douthat wrote about that here.) Ponnuru notes that Senators Mike Lee and Marco Rubio are opposed to the plan on the grounds that it could dis-incentivize work.
I’m not sure where I come down on this - we want a society where people work and, more importantly, families can experience upward mobility. I kind of like the idea of just giving people with no strings attached - people are complex and simple handouts avoid other complications.
But here’s the thing: Republicans and conservatives need to have this argument.
For far, far too long the basic argument has been “cut taxes” and “reduce big government.” Those may be methods - for better or worse - but they are not solutions. And what Romney is proposing here is a solution, and he forces his party to argue along these grounds. That’s a good thing. Too often conservatives principles have turned to nihilism because the average Republican just believes in reducing government which leaves them unable to engage in policy debates in a way that is politically realistic.
Romney’s plan forces the Senate and, we can hope, the House to make serious arguments for or against the plan. No matter what else happens, if Congress begins to take policy seriously once again, Romney will have done his country a great service.
Let’s check back in on Wednesday. Have a great day.