Why is it.........

As tax time approaches this year, Troubadour and I once again ask ourselves the following question: “Why does the government by way of the Internal Revenue Service reward people for having children?”

Now this is a very touchy and controversial matter, as people usually have strong feelings and opinions regarding the subject of their children and/or taxes.

Troubadour and I do not have children, nor do we plan to. We do know several people and other family members who have children. Why is it the people who choose to have children receive a tax credit just for reproducing? Not only that, but the more they multiply so does tax credit they receive.

So my question to the general populace is: “Does this seem fair?”

Those families who have children will emphatically yell, “Yes!” Those who do not will yell “No” just as loud.

Why is it that two families both making the exact same amount of income pay different taxes based solely on their reproductive status?

It does not matter if the families make $20,000; $50,000; or even $100,000 per year, their tax rate should be the same. It should be based on income alone not on how they choose to spend their income.

If the family that chooses not to have children decide to spend their money on toys, motorcycles, or even investments why do they pay higher taxes? 

Why should the family that decides to have children and spend their income to support those children be rewarded by the federal government in the form of a “child tax credit” just for spending their income on children rather than something else? 

In this day and age of economic downturns and slowdowns why are we rewarding people for having children?

Every time you turn on the television or read the newspaper we are told that funding to education has been cut once again and that there is not enough money to provide health care for all children. Why don’t we take those millions of dollars in "tax credits" and actually have those families pay their share of the tax burden and set those monies aside specifically for education and health care for children. 

Why am I paying for their children's education and health care with my higher tax dollars? I think people who choose to have children should be held responsible for the burden they put on society and our government.

Some people will say that they have a “right” or even a “God given right” to have children. You do not have the right to have children, you have a choice and should consider it a privilege. I don’t see where it is written into the United States Constitution that you have a right to a tax break just by having children. 

Don’t even get me started on how much of my local county property tax dollars go towards school funding and education……..

-Au Revoir

"The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return." - Gore Vidal