The right wing routinely demonizes family-friendly policies of liberals as “social engineering.”
But look out! Here come those same politicians, putting on MAGA hardhats and firing up their political bulldozers to push one of the most arrogant and intrusive social schemes imaginable.
They intend to re-engineer the American family! These “pronatalists” want families to conform to a Christian Nationalist family structure — specifically, a dominant man married to a subservient stay-at-home woman, having beaucoup children. Not a couple of kiddos but six, 12, or more!
For example, extremist MAGA senator Josh Hawley has become a cheerleader for a federal policy to entice women to quit work, stay home, and have more babies. He proposes a tax credit of $5,000 per child, gushing that this would cause working families to exclaim, “Oh, my gosh, we can actually raise our kids.”
Well, “gosh” right back at you, Josh!
Just giving birth can cost more than $5,000 — and raising a child is multiples above that every year. So, you want to take away a mom’s job and her income and add thousands in costs to the family budget — in exchange for a government tax credit?
The slickest loan sharks aren’t that diabolical.
Oh, wait. Right-wing pronatalists have another government incentive to jack-up birth rates. Incredibly, Trump officials have proposed a “National Medal of Motherhood” for women who have six or more children.
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Wow, what should that medal look like? And when and where should it be worn? Also, will un-medaled women be socially ostracized?
If right wingers actually wanted to help families, they’d be backing family-level wages, free child care, and Medicare for all. Everything else is political BS.
This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
