Family Values

[Darth Wong]

For all the talk about family values, I've heard very few concrete suggestions from anyone about how to make the country any better for families. I hear a lot of people who use "family values" as an excuse to attack others, eg- prostitutes, people who swear on TV, porno, gays, etc. But in all the years of "family values" rhetoric, I honestly don't recall anyone proposing any way to make the country more amenable to families.

Personally, if I were to actually try and do something for "family values", I would make the child tax deduction much larger, and I would also make a big fat tax deduction for workers who have a spouse staying at home taking care of the kids. Dual-income families whine about daycare costs, but there is no greater daycare cost than giving up one of two incomes to raise your kids at home, the way they're supposed to be raised.

So how would you do it? How would you actually make the country better for families?

[TrailerParkJawa]

My limited experience so far has shown me how unfriendly corporations are to a family situation. I dont have any real answers just an observation.

For my region, lowering housing costs would be the best thing you could do to "promote" families. Two incomes are essential to home ownership unless one person make around 100K. At that point, 1 person might be able to stay home. I agree in a lot of areas the perception of dual incomes being needed can turn out to be a myth once you take into account the cost of day care, commuting, gas, and all the other things associated with a second job.

[Joe]

I don't have any comments (basically agree, that's about it), but I do love talking about taxes:

Personally, if I were to actually try and do something for "family values", I would make the child tax deduction much larger,

How much do you get in Canada? In the U.S. it's a $3,050 exemption per dependent kid, with a phaseout when you reach a higher income level.

and I would also make a big fat tax deduction for workers who have a spouse staying at home taking care of the kids.

In America, married, filing jointly filing status is actually already designed to favor families with one stay-at-home parent. Is it this way in Canada?

Dual-income families whine about daycare costs, but there is no greater daycare cost than giving up one of two incomes to raise your kids at home, the way they're supposed to be raised.

And you know what? American families who have their kids raised by strangers get a tax credit now for payment of daycare expenses, but stay-at-home parents don't get shit.

So how would you do it? How would you actually make the country better for families?

Hmm...well, I'd allow married couples with kids and one stay-at-home parent the option the raise their standard deduction $1,500 per one kid, and $3,000 for two or more kids. No increase in the standard deduction whatsoever for families with two working parents.

I'd also change the taxability of child support; the recipient of the child support must include it in his/her taxable income, while retaining the current structure disallowing payers to deduct child support from taxable income. I'd also try and more the divorce courts a little less favorable towards women; I don't think women are evil, and I don't want to sound like a misogynist, but divorce courts tend to favor women pretty heavily and it shows, with women filing a larger percentage of the divorces than males. With these changes in place, both parties would be more inclined to salvage their marriage than get a divorce and make the lives of their children harder.

[Dahak]

One of the first steps would to encourage people to get children in the first place.
Tax benefits for people raising children.
Benefits to pension insurance payments.
More kindergarten places.

That would be my initial measures...

[Nova Andromeda]

For all the talk about family values, I've heard very few concrete suggestions from anyone about how to make the country any better for families. I hear a lot of people who use "family values" as an excuse to attack others, eg- prostitutes, people who swear on TV, porno, gays, etc. But in all the years of "family values" rhetoric, I honestly don't recall anyone proposing any way to make the country more amenable to families.

Personally, if I were to actually try and do something for "family values", I would make the child tax deduction much larger, and I would also make a big fat tax deduction for workers who have a spouse staying at home taking care of the kids. Dual-income families whine about daycare costs, but there is no greater daycare cost than giving up one of two incomes to raise your kids at home, the way they're supposed to be raised.

So how would you do it? How would you actually make the country better for families?

--In the U.S. the two best things that can be done is to give all children medical care for free and to fix the education system.