
<p>Every time the big spending autocrats want to spend more taxpayer money to gain greater political control of the populace, they come up with very nice sounding programs. ; The money is to help the poor, the elderly, the disabled, the single parent, education for toddlers, advanced education, crime victims, underpaid teachers, union workers, etc., etc., etc.</p>



<p>Of course, they also like to create what I call the “affluent dependent class” with money for professors, favored businesses, subsidies, real estate developers, industrial farms, etc., etc., etc.</p>



<p>Virtually all that money is spent to buy votes – and there is usually a lot of mischief in how the money is delivered, used, wasted, and embezzled. ; The big spenders on the left do not care if you are cheating – or gaming the system – because the crooks will also support those providing even that ill-gotten money.</p>



<p>Democrats are all over the media whining about the opposition to the misnamed and hugely expensive Child Tax Credit. ; While the money goes to families with children – or at least to those claiming to have children. ; (And yes, we have more than enough examples of people conning the system by falsely claiming their non-existent children. ; But that is only one element of the overall problem.)</p>



<p>For all practical purposes, the Child Tax Credit is not directed to the child – or children. ; It is simply a grant to the family – a grant totally controlled by the parents. ; There is no obligation to spend any of that money on the children.</p>



<p>The left jumped all over West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin for arguing that parents could even use the money to buy drugs. ; If some parents are doing drugs and desperate for the money to finance the habit, you can bet your nickel bag that they will use the money for drugs … or alcohol … or obsessive buying on the Shoppers Network. ; Not every parent is a paragon of virtue.</p>



<p>MSNBC’s Katy Tur suggested that Manchin was insulting the people of his home state – especially, she said, since West Virginia has a major opioid problem. ; Whoa! ; Am I missing the logic here? ; Tur blasts Manchin for suggesting that the Child Tax Credit money might go to drug purchases – and then reveals that there are a large number of addicts in his home state – many of whom would most certainly be parents. ; Seems to me that Tur was supporting Manchin’s concern.</p>



<p>In addition to no supervisory protection over the misuse of the money there is another problem. ; The money goes to a lot of parents who have incomes way above the poverty level. ; These folks might even be called “rich” – capable enough to provide for their children. ; That is why Manchin wants the money be means-tested.</p>



<p>Then there is the claim that the current Child Tax Credit has taken more than half of the children out of poverty. ; They claim that by looking at the estimated number of children living in families with incomes below the government poverty level. ; The added money puts their total income just over the poverty level. ; What it does, it takes those who have incomes just a smidgeon below the government-determined poverty level and pushes their incomes a smidgeon over the line.</p>



<p>It does not however establish that the children in those families materially benefit from the slight increase in household income. ; There is nothing in the legislation that requires parental accountability for the money.</p>



<p>Under the proposed legislation, it would be possible for two families with incomes below the poverty level to share an apartment and expenses – providing a household income in excess of the poverty level – and still have both families individually get the money for however many kids are in the home.</p>



<p>One of the reasons Biden and the Democrats decided to pass the Child Tax Credit for only one year was to hide the overall expense. ; These programs are traditionally extended for ten years because that provides a more realistic cost to the American taxpayer. ; ;</p>



<p>The reason they are not doing that is because projecting just the Child Tax Credit out ten years would reveal the enormous budget-busting, deficit spending, National Debt increasing cost. ; They do not want the Congressional Budget Office to be scoring the ten-year program.</p>



<p>Democrats know that if they had passed a one-year program, they would be making the same arguments next year … and the next year … for the extension of the Child Tax Credit program – just as they are making the plea to extend it today. ; ;</p>



<p>Biden &; Co. are flagrantly trying to flimflam the American people with this legislative trickery. ; To understand what the Democrats are doing, just image you bought your house based on your belief that you only had to pay the first-year mortgage. ; That is another reason Manchin refuses to participate in such shenanigans.</p>



<p>While this commentary dealt with the sham of the so-called Child Tax Credit, there are many, many other provisions in the Build Back Better bill that should be objectionable to any fiscally responsible member of Congress. ; Thank God that the Democrats have at least one of them.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Child Tax Credit gimmick explained
