The Family Income Supplemental Credit
February 18, 2021
This paper presents the case for a per-child family benefit called the Family Income Supplemental Credit, or “Fisc.” We argue that such a policy should be understood not as a “child allowance,” but rather as a form of reciprocal social insurance paid only to working families. Those struggling to make ends meet as the pressures of raising young children simultaneously curtail their income and raise their expenses deserve the nation’s unqualified support. If and when they attain economic comfort themselves, they should repay the investment, contributing to the support of those facing the squeeze. An aggressive expansion of the nation’s social compact, backed by a major financial commitment, holds the potential to shore up the economic and cultural foundations on which people build their lives.
By contrast, we reject other rationales that argue for a universal child allowance paid to families on behalf of their children regardless of whether the families have earnings of their own:
