"You know, it's not expensive for a company to do it. You need one person or two people, and you need some blocks, and you need some swings and some toys," Trump said. "It's not an expensive thing, and I do it all over. And I get great people because of it. Because it's a problem with a lot of other companies." (Associated Press — 8/11/2016)
ASTON, PENNSYLVANIA — Donald Trump graced suburban Philadelphia with his beautiful, orange presence, accompanied by his daughter Ivanka, to pitch his recently crafted child-care tax credit policy proposal. The Republican presidential nominee has been plagued with disastrous polling data in regards to women, and specifically, young white women, a huge motivation for this recent proposal concoction.
Laura Wentz, a woman who stood outside of last night’s private event in bewilderment, held a sign that referred to Trump’s recent child-care reform announcement as a “ninth-inning empty political promise”, as Delaware County Daily Times reporter Lucas Rodgers reported from the scene.
There are the obvious points to be made — Donald Trump has a life-long history of misogyny to accompany his brash xenophobia and white supremacy. From his recent intimations on national television about Megyn Kelly’s inability to ask a relevant question because of her menstrual cycle, to allegations about how he treated his ex wife during their marriage, to his newfound association with ousted FOX News chairman/CEO Roger Ailes. These all call into question his opinion of women and his value of them within society and within his policy framework as the potential president of the United States — but more than that, they prove that Trump’s longstanding polling deficits among female voters are no glitch, no drop on the pan trend that is bound to trend up. Donald Trump is desperate to change this disastrous trajectory.
Putting this history of misogyny aside, the motivations for creating such a plan months before the election and after many eligible female voters have already made up their mind about “The Donald”, is clearly to save his polling numbers, and Donald Trump’s childcare plan, like most of his accomplishments, is made of a conglomeration of quick-sand, hairspray, and innumeracy.
Let’s start with the basics: Trump proposes a tax credit for parents seeking child-care for their youngster, as Politico reports, “to allow working parents to deduct from their income taxes child care expenses for up to four children and elderly dependents.”
- Most parents struggling to pay for child-care already are exempt from paying most of their federal taxes, because they are already so deep below the poverty line. A tax credit accomplishes little to nothing for them, financially, as they make this decision — BUT, an increase in the minimum wage would go a long way on that front. (Donald Trump is against increasing the minimum wage. Darn.)
- The way that the tax credit is structured is more advantageous in amount and in schedule to middle class and wealthier families, while leaving poorer families behind. Trump’s plan is an IOU, a pay you later approach that forces families already struggling with this issue as you read, to pay for the services and then hopefully get a tax credit later. It also scales in such a way to provide more of a tax break to those who need it least, while hardly helping at all those struggling the most. American Prospect paints a clear picture:
“Trump’s proposal would allow families to deduct the average cost of child care, presumably around $10,000 per child. But for a family in the lowest bracket in Trump’s tax plan—those earning below $58,000 annually—the deduction could be worthless. On the other hand, wealthier people in the top bracket—those earning $308,000 or more annually—could save $3,300 per year.”
Those are just the flaws at face value, but as a reminder, Trump also has a weaker paid family leave plan than Hillary Clinton, opposes gender pay equity (a huge issue in child-care and hospitality professions), refuses to acknowledge government’s role in addressing sexual harassment in the workplace, and says that it is inexpensive for a company to provide child care.
"You know, it's not expensive for a company to do it. You need one person or two people, and you need some blocks, and you need some swings and some toys," Trump said. "It's not an expensive thing, and I do it all over. And I get great people because of it. Because it's a problem with a lot of other companies." (Associated Press — 8/11/2016)
He then lied about the existence of a child care program within the Trump Organization, to really give women confidence about his seriousness on the issue. It is in fact, only available to guests at his hotels, if at all, not to workers who really could use the benefit. In New York, as AP reports, there are no records at all of a child care center operated by the Trump Organization.
There is an alternative, though.
As the Washington Post reports, Hillary Clinton’s plan, released early on in her 2016 bid, avoids the swiss cheese of policy holes that plague Trump’s platform.
- Tax credits are larger, targeted toward the lower and middle class families who need it.
- Tax credit amounts are released on a monthly basis
- Wage increases for childcare workers are included, as well as funding for training programs to increase childcare option quality for all who need it
- plan for gender pay equity
- plan for paid family leave for either parent, regardless of gender
