Forget the motherhood medals — Maine parents need real support
President Donald Trump's team is reportedly seeking ways to encourage Americans to have more children. They've looked at everything from baby bonuses to motherhood medals. Yet at the same time, policies perused by the president and his fellow Republicans are making life for parents harder and more expensive. Pronatalism can be a problematic idea, and it's debatable how much we actually need to increase birth rates. But we should all be able to agree on making kids' lives more fulfilling and parents' jobs a little easier.
Here are some places to start.
Instead of imposing tariffs that will raise the cost of everything from kids' clothes to strollers, Republicans could give parents a helping hand by expanding the child tax credit. When the credit was expanded nationally in 2021, the number of children living in poverty in Maine was cut in half. As they consider a new tax bill this year, lawmakers in Washington could repeat that success. Closer to home, lawmakers in Augusta are considering a smaller but meaningful change to the state level credit, increasing the amount for the most vulnerable kids in our state.
Instead of submitting a dozen bills to repeal or weaken Maine's new paid family and medical leave program, Republicans could support the initiative which will allow thousands of Maine parents each year to take time off for childbirth or to care for a sick kid. PFML makes for healthier kids and allows parents (especially moms) to continue participating in the labor force.
Instead of cheering on the president's illegal withholding of funds for school meals, and food banks, Maine Republicans could be working to ensure state funding replaces lost federal funds that help the one in five Maine families with kids at risk of going hungry. They could also urge their congressional colleagues not to cut more than a fifth of the funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, in which a third of Maine participating households have children.
Republicans could also fight to protect health care coverage for Maine kids and parents. Expanding Medicaid coverage has restored coverage to 11,000 parents that lost their eligibility under former Governor Paul LePage's cuts, but Republicans in Congress are putting that at risk with multiple plans to slash Medicaid funding at the federal level.
State lawmakers could also support parents by funding child care programs and supporting child care workers. Trump has targeted the Head Start program for cuts, so far withholding $1 billion from states across the country. In Maine, Governor Janet Mills's budget proposes reducing state support for the program, while also cutting wages for child care workers. Instead of taking away this crucial support for parents, lawmakers can strengthen it, ensuring that workers are paid fairly while keeping programs affordable for parents.
As any parent will tell you, raising kids is hard. But it's not difficult to see ways to at least make parenting — and childhood — a bit easier. If Republicans want more babies, they should stop punishing the parents who already have them. Parents don't need platitudes. They need paid leave, child care they can afford, and food on the table. If politicians can't deliver that, they should stop pretending to care about families at all.
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