Donald Trump Offers a Plan Aimed at Helping Working Families
The GOP presidential candidate's expanded proposal calls for six weeks of paid maternity leave and new tax credits for child care.
Donald Trump. (Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0)
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump unveiled a plan to help working families that includes a mandatory six weeks of paid maternity leave and new tax credits for child care.
Trump proposed the child care initiative weeks ago but now has broadened the plan after criticism that his first proposal failed to address the needs of women and families who make little money.
His aides heralded the proposal as unprecedented for a Republican presidential candidate. Many Republicans oppose requiring paid maternity leave, arguing that it unfairly burdens businesses.
The New York Times reports:
The main thrust of Mr. Trump’s plan involves a reordering of the tax code so working parents can take an income tax deduction for care of up to four children and older-adult dependents. The deduction is available for individuals earning up to $250,000, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly.
There would also be child care spending rebates as high as $1,200 a year for families on the lower end of the income scale.
That is an amount that some critics called inadequate given that the cost of child care in some states is $10,000 to $20,000 a year.
Another proposal aimed at lower-income parents is a dependent care savings account, a version of a flexible spending account usually offered by employers. Such accounts would be universal and used for after-school or traditional child care, with a government match of $500 a year — a minuscule amount given the cost of such care, and given the difficulty that lower-income families have putting away money in such accounts.
Among the open questions are whether the deductions that working parents could claim would replace the existing earned-income tax credit, whether there would be an age cap for the children involved, and what the actual scale of benefit would be for people of various incomes.
.
—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
In their eagerness to nominate anyone but Bernie Sanders, Democrats are falling into the same trap as Republicans did in 2016.
The impeachment defense team reserves bulk of its case for Monday, focusing just two hours on what they call "politically motivated" effort.
For the first time, the Iowa Democratic Party will report three sets of results from the party's presidential caucuses.
When he won, many American liberals said Democrats needed their own version of the French leader. They should be careful what they wish for.
It begins a marathon two-day session to consider the historic charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress against President Trump.
However, a letter to the House from the former security adviser’s attorney states he would appear only under court order.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.