" fabulously funny to anyone who ’s been alive long enough to remember when Republicans used to accuse women of having extra babies to extend their benefit benefits . "
Trump White House advisors arereportedlyconsidering a plan to increase birth rates among mothers in the US, called the"$5,000 baby bonus."
The US birth rate has been on thedeclinesince 2007, and though no concrete decision has been made, President Trump himself was recently asked about the potential $5,000 incentive at a White House event andsaid,“Sounds like a good idea to me.”
As many have pointed out, a $5,000 bonus doesn’t address many of the reasons women are choosing not to have babies. These reasons include a third of the country living in"maternal health care deserts,“high rates ofmaternal death among minority communities,and a wide range ofabortion bansthat research says increases existing health disparities.
In addition to the physical risks, the cost of caring for a child is extremely expensive. According to a recent analysis, it costs, on average, nearly$300,000to raise a child from birth to age 18, including housing, childcare, food, and clothing.
House Speaker Mike Johnson recently spoke about the potential baby bonus and responded to theaccusationthat the idea is intended to increase the number of white babies in America. “Absolutely absurd…we are the Republican Party. We’re the pro-family party, we always have been. We take great pride in that. We want to build a culture of life in America. We want to advance policies that help families,” Johnson said.
Here’s what people online are saying about the $5K baby bonus idea:
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