To make it seem less like an election year gimmick, Governor Scott Walker is out trying to sell his proposed $100 child tax credit as a “rebate” because the state is projected to run a surplus in the current budget. That leads me to ask, why can’t childless adults get in on that rebate action too?
How about a little credit for putting less strain on public resources than those with children? Wisconsin schools spend just over $11,000 per student every year. By not having kids, we just saved everyone else at least 143-thousand bucks over 13-years. That’s also less food that needs to be prepared in the school kitchens. Plus, you won’t have to subsidize a college education at a UW-System school either. We won’t require day care subsidies or transportation aids either.
How about a little credit for not adding to the health care crisis with more patients needing shots, annual checkups, dental exams and eyeglasses? We won’t be needing expensive emergency room care because of a late-night fever. There won’t be any need for ear infection medications or setting broken bones caused by falls out of trees or skateboarding accidents. Not to mention lower insurance rates for our co-workers–or not adding to the number of CHIPS or BadgerCare Plus enrollees.
How about a little credit for not sending tens of thousands of disposable diapers to local landfills? Or not sending “flushable” baby wipes to the water treatment plant? Or putting old cribs, high chairs, car seats and hundreds of toys that were used for a couple of days and then discarded on the curb?
How about a little credit for not creating more future drivers? For remaining just a two-vehicle household and not putting more strain on our already-stressed transportation infrastructure? For keeping everyone else’s insurance rates lower by having fewer bad, young drivers on the road? Or for not requiring additional police stops for speeding, texting while driving, fender benders and cars in the ditch on snowy days?
If anything, Governor Walker’s “rebate” should be going only to those without children, because we are the ones footing the bill for a lot of services that we don’t even “need”.
