House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) said in a press conference on Thursday that Americans should have more children in order to keep the country's workforce stroing as baby boomers retire. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/cc)
Dec 14, 2017
After weeks of promoting the Republican tax plan, which would raise taxes on the average American family within the next decade, and years spent pushing policies that benefit corporations and the wealthy over middle- and lower-class households, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) suggested Thursday that Americans should have more children in order to keep entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security afloat.
Watch:
The United States saw record low birth rates in 2016, with only 62 births for every 1,000 women of childbearing age--down one percent from the year before.
While the U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, U.S. News and World Report found it to be far behind many European countries in its annual ranking of the Best Countries to Raise Kids earlier this year, due to its relative lack of support systems for parents and children.
The U.S. placed only at number 19 on the list, with the magazine noting that higher-ranking countries including Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Canada, had higher scores for income inequality, healthcare, well-supported public education, and other categories.
Ryan has offered little support for programs that would make healthcare, education, and family leave possible for families--likely making Americans as eager to reproduce as previous generations--and has promoted programs that would actively make child-rearing less accessible for many families.
The GOP's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which passed in the House with almost unanimous support from Republicans, would exclude about 10 million children from its Child Tax Credit increase, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The tax bill is being reconciled in Congress now, but according to reports the final version is expected to benefit the wealthy over average American families even more than the House and Senate bills did.
The tax plan would also eliminate tax deductions for student loan interest and tax cuts for undergraduates and graduate students, suggesting that while Ryan is happy to urge Americans to procreate, he has little interest in assisting their children should they attend college.
Ryan has shown disdain for the types of programs that put child-rearing within reach for families in many other countries, including family leave. The U.S. is the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't guarantee paid leave for new parents, and in 2009, Ryan voted against a bill that would allow federal employees to use up to four weeks of vacation time for parental leave--far less generous that the leave offered to families in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and many other countries.
Earlier this year, Ryan also spearheaded the House GOP's attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which included an amendment that would have allowed states to refuse prenatal and delivery room care, leaving women with up to $17,000 in surcharges for maternity care according to the Center for American Progress.
At Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall noted that Ryan's concerns over continuing to fund Medicare and Social Security could be alleviated through means other than imploring Americans to have babies they may have trouble affording under Republican policies:
As Americans live longer and have fewer children, the political economy has needed more young people than what economists call 'natural increase' can manage. That's a key reason why relatively high rates of immigration has become so key to sustaining not just economic growth but the ability of working age payroll taxes to sustain these programs which mainly but not exclusively go to older people. There are other ways to help these programs: like ending the tax breaks that allow wealthy people to pay lower rates than working people.
On social media, other critics denounced Ryan's insistence that Americans aren't reproducing enough, while he and his party do little to incentivize raising children in the U.S.
\u201cPaul Ryan logic. Cut entitlement programs that help families. Fewer people having babies because they can't afford them. Ask people to have more babies so entitlements don't have to be cut further.\n\nYeah, makes total sense. https://t.co/6Avrt7iKNC\u201d— The Honey Badger (@The Honey Badger) 1513286317
\u201cPaul Ryan, who is paying for all these extra babies? Women can't get equal pay and health insurance is a joke, so who is paying for the babies?\u201d— Black Girls Don\u2019t Date (@Black Girls Don\u2019t Date) 1513280072
\u201c@kasie @SpeakerRyan It\u2019s clearly because we\u2019re doing an exemplary job of taking care of our existing children. It\u2019s great to see that @SpeakerRyan supporting increased child care, health care, education, housing, & food vouchers for those children already living in the US. #OhWaitHeIsnt\u201d— Kasie Hunt (@Kasie Hunt) 1513269959
Oh sure we'll all get right on that once you allow for paid maternity and paternity leave and maybe more help with daycare expenses. https://t.co/ajjklmJo5L
-- imTired thatisall (@imisspoundsigns) December 14, 2017
Why Your Ongoing Support Is Essential
Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy, justice, and a free press are escalating — putting everything we stand for at risk. We believe a better world is possible, but we can’t get there without your support. Common Dreams stands apart. We answer only to you — our readers, activists, and changemakers — not to billionaires or corporations. Our independence allows us to cover the vital stories that others won’t, spotlighting movements for peace, equality, and human rights. Right now, our work faces unprecedented challenges. Misinformation is spreading, journalists are under attack, and financial pressures are mounting. As a reader-supported, nonprofit newsroom, your support is crucial to keep this journalism alive. Whatever you can give — $10, $25, or $100 — helps us stay strong and responsive when the world needs us most. Together, we’ll continue to build the independent, courageous journalism our movement relies on. Thank you for being part of this community. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
center for american progresschildrenhealthcarekirsten gillibrandpaul ryanrepublican partytaxationus housewomen
After weeks of promoting the Republican tax plan, which would raise taxes on the average American family within the next decade, and years spent pushing policies that benefit corporations and the wealthy over middle- and lower-class households, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) suggested Thursday that Americans should have more children in order to keep entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security afloat.
Watch:
The United States saw record low birth rates in 2016, with only 62 births for every 1,000 women of childbearing age--down one percent from the year before.
While the U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, U.S. News and World Report found it to be far behind many European countries in its annual ranking of the Best Countries to Raise Kids earlier this year, due to its relative lack of support systems for parents and children.
The U.S. placed only at number 19 on the list, with the magazine noting that higher-ranking countries including Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Canada, had higher scores for income inequality, healthcare, well-supported public education, and other categories.
Ryan has offered little support for programs that would make healthcare, education, and family leave possible for families--likely making Americans as eager to reproduce as previous generations--and has promoted programs that would actively make child-rearing less accessible for many families.
The GOP's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which passed in the House with almost unanimous support from Republicans, would exclude about 10 million children from its Child Tax Credit increase, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The tax bill is being reconciled in Congress now, but according to reports the final version is expected to benefit the wealthy over average American families even more than the House and Senate bills did.
The tax plan would also eliminate tax deductions for student loan interest and tax cuts for undergraduates and graduate students, suggesting that while Ryan is happy to urge Americans to procreate, he has little interest in assisting their children should they attend college.
Ryan has shown disdain for the types of programs that put child-rearing within reach for families in many other countries, including family leave. The U.S. is the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't guarantee paid leave for new parents, and in 2009, Ryan voted against a bill that would allow federal employees to use up to four weeks of vacation time for parental leave--far less generous that the leave offered to families in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and many other countries.
Earlier this year, Ryan also spearheaded the House GOP's attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which included an amendment that would have allowed states to refuse prenatal and delivery room care, leaving women with up to $17,000 in surcharges for maternity care according to the Center for American Progress.
At Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall noted that Ryan's concerns over continuing to fund Medicare and Social Security could be alleviated through means other than imploring Americans to have babies they may have trouble affording under Republican policies:
As Americans live longer and have fewer children, the political economy has needed more young people than what economists call 'natural increase' can manage. That's a key reason why relatively high rates of immigration has become so key to sustaining not just economic growth but the ability of working age payroll taxes to sustain these programs which mainly but not exclusively go to older people. There are other ways to help these programs: like ending the tax breaks that allow wealthy people to pay lower rates than working people.
On social media, other critics denounced Ryan's insistence that Americans aren't reproducing enough, while he and his party do little to incentivize raising children in the U.S.
\u201cPaul Ryan logic. Cut entitlement programs that help families. Fewer people having babies because they can't afford them. Ask people to have more babies so entitlements don't have to be cut further.\n\nYeah, makes total sense. https://t.co/6Avrt7iKNC\u201d— The Honey Badger (@The Honey Badger) 1513286317
\u201cPaul Ryan, who is paying for all these extra babies? Women can't get equal pay and health insurance is a joke, so who is paying for the babies?\u201d— Black Girls Don\u2019t Date (@Black Girls Don\u2019t Date) 1513280072
\u201c@kasie @SpeakerRyan It\u2019s clearly because we\u2019re doing an exemplary job of taking care of our existing children. It\u2019s great to see that @SpeakerRyan supporting increased child care, health care, education, housing, & food vouchers for those children already living in the US. #OhWaitHeIsnt\u201d— Kasie Hunt (@Kasie Hunt) 1513269959
Oh sure we'll all get right on that once you allow for paid maternity and paternity leave and maybe more help with daycare expenses. https://t.co/ajjklmJo5L
-- imTired thatisall (@imisspoundsigns) December 14, 2017
After weeks of promoting the Republican tax plan, which would raise taxes on the average American family within the next decade, and years spent pushing policies that benefit corporations and the wealthy over middle- and lower-class households, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) suggested Thursday that Americans should have more children in order to keep entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security afloat.
Watch:
The United States saw record low birth rates in 2016, with only 62 births for every 1,000 women of childbearing age--down one percent from the year before.
While the U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, U.S. News and World Report found it to be far behind many European countries in its annual ranking of the Best Countries to Raise Kids earlier this year, due to its relative lack of support systems for parents and children.
The U.S. placed only at number 19 on the list, with the magazine noting that higher-ranking countries including Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Canada, had higher scores for income inequality, healthcare, well-supported public education, and other categories.
Ryan has offered little support for programs that would make healthcare, education, and family leave possible for families--likely making Americans as eager to reproduce as previous generations--and has promoted programs that would actively make child-rearing less accessible for many families.
The GOP's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which passed in the House with almost unanimous support from Republicans, would exclude about 10 million children from its Child Tax Credit increase, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The tax bill is being reconciled in Congress now, but according to reports the final version is expected to benefit the wealthy over average American families even more than the House and Senate bills did.
The tax plan would also eliminate tax deductions for student loan interest and tax cuts for undergraduates and graduate students, suggesting that while Ryan is happy to urge Americans to procreate, he has little interest in assisting their children should they attend college.
Ryan has shown disdain for the types of programs that put child-rearing within reach for families in many other countries, including family leave. The U.S. is the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't guarantee paid leave for new parents, and in 2009, Ryan voted against a bill that would allow federal employees to use up to four weeks of vacation time for parental leave--far less generous that the leave offered to families in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and many other countries.
Earlier this year, Ryan also spearheaded the House GOP's attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which included an amendment that would have allowed states to refuse prenatal and delivery room care, leaving women with up to $17,000 in surcharges for maternity care according to the Center for American Progress.
At Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall noted that Ryan's concerns over continuing to fund Medicare and Social Security could be alleviated through means other than imploring Americans to have babies they may have trouble affording under Republican policies:
As Americans live longer and have fewer children, the political economy has needed more young people than what economists call 'natural increase' can manage. That's a key reason why relatively high rates of immigration has become so key to sustaining not just economic growth but the ability of working age payroll taxes to sustain these programs which mainly but not exclusively go to older people. There are other ways to help these programs: like ending the tax breaks that allow wealthy people to pay lower rates than working people.
On social media, other critics denounced Ryan's insistence that Americans aren't reproducing enough, while he and his party do little to incentivize raising children in the U.S.
\u201cPaul Ryan logic. Cut entitlement programs that help families. Fewer people having babies because they can't afford them. Ask people to have more babies so entitlements don't have to be cut further.\n\nYeah, makes total sense. https://t.co/6Avrt7iKNC\u201d— The Honey Badger (@The Honey Badger) 1513286317
\u201cPaul Ryan, who is paying for all these extra babies? Women can't get equal pay and health insurance is a joke, so who is paying for the babies?\u201d— Black Girls Don\u2019t Date (@Black Girls Don\u2019t Date) 1513280072
\u201c@kasie @SpeakerRyan It\u2019s clearly because we\u2019re doing an exemplary job of taking care of our existing children. It\u2019s great to see that @SpeakerRyan supporting increased child care, health care, education, housing, & food vouchers for those children already living in the US. #OhWaitHeIsnt\u201d— Kasie Hunt (@Kasie Hunt) 1513269959
Oh sure we'll all get right on that once you allow for paid maternity and paternity leave and maybe more help with daycare expenses. https://t.co/ajjklmJo5L
-- imTired thatisall (@imisspoundsigns) December 14, 2017
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.