The harmful divisiveness at the heart of President Obama's tax plan

President Obama's tax plan shows the kinds of families progressives favor

(Image credit: (Illustration by Lauren Hansen | Image courtesy REUTERS/Larry Downing))

In his State of the Union address, President Obama unveiled a tax plan. With a Republican-controlled Congress, it almost certainly won't pass. It is purely a bit of politics — but that's what makes it interesting. It is less a policy agenda than a statement by the most progressive president in a generation about what the good society looks like. And it is telling indeed.

The plan includes some provisions to help families, particularly low-income families, raise children. Smart conservatives have been calling for action on this front for a while now, and so it is to be applauded. But the best way to do this is for families get a simple refundable child tax credit. That way, in some families, both parents can decide to work full-time and use the money to pay for childcare; in other families, one parent can decide to work less and spend more time with the kids.

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Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry is a writer and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His writing has appeared at Forbes, The Atlantic, First Things, Commentary Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Federalist, Quartz, and other places. He lives in Paris with his beloved wife and daughter.