7 Exorbitant Welfare Proposals Packed Into Biden’s ‘American Family Plan’
Biden's American Family Plan would dole out free college, free child care, free meals, and more. But does the math add up? Nope.
By Elizabeth Bauer
May 3, 2021
President Biden released the provisions of his American Family Plan last week, and just like with his American Jobs Plan, the details are scant and the price tag is high.
Even given the limited details, the plans ought to give everyone pause — and by “everyone” I don’t just mean conservatives who oppose massive welfare state expansions, but also those who agree with the objective of an increase in the social insurance system in America. There are some serious flaws worth looking at, even with the few details we have of the plan.
Proposal 1: Free Daycare
Biden splits out his childcare proposals into two pieces, “free preschool” and “affordable childcare.” The proposal claims families will be able to “choose the settings that work best for them,” but the proposal is very specific about what this program will look like, with teachers with “job-embedded coaching, professional development, and wages that reflect the importance of their work.”
What’s more, the proposal states that “All employees in participating pre-K programs and Head Start will earn at least $15 per hour, and those with comparable qualifications will receive compensation commensurate with that of kindergarten teachers.” This means only some preschool programs will be eligible, rather than providing working parents real choice for their child care.
Biden’s “affordable child care” promises “low and middle-income families [will] pay no more than 7 percent of their income on high-quality child care, saving the average family $14,800 per year on child care expenses.” The plan doesn’t specify whether families that earn more will be included at a lower benefit level or not.
It promises more family choice, be it child care centers or family child care providers, or Early Head Start, but similar proposals generally use the phrase “high quality” to exclude family child care centers, to require a college education, and, in practice, despite the phrase “developmentally appropriate,” to create a very academic curriculum focused on early reading and math.
Unlike childcare subsidies in other Western countries, there is no benefit for stay-at-home parents, and certainly no option for families for whom a nanny or nanny-share is the most appropriate choice.
In addition to this promise of a 7 percent maximum, the plan also proposes a boost in the tax credit for child care expenses, with a 50 percent reimbursement, up to $4,000 for one child or $8,000 for two or more children, for families earning up to $125,000, and a phase-out afterward.
more
https://thefederalist.com/2021/05/03/7-exorbitant-welfare-proposals-packed-into-bidens-american-family-plan/
