I’ve been reading a number of thought provoking substack critiques of current American capitalism, including byHamilton Nolan and The Ivy Exile I have a post of my own on the subject coming this Saturday, based on a cultural work. This post captures the type of reform to our system I’d like to see. Begins below.
Aug 17, 2023·edited Aug 17, 2023Liked by david roberts
That same Puritanical streak comes into pernicious play when small government types complain that welfare breaks up families, especially black families.
Of course, when those programs were passed, the political process could handle aiding children and their mothers, but not able-bodied men, especially black men.
And I agree that it should quietly be put back into place, perhaps under a more boring name in an impenetrable tax reform bill.
But I'm not optimistic. Who would do it among our politicians?
" I should add (and not just because my children read my posts) that the psychic and emotional payoff of being a parent can be immense." I hope the kids are reading this. Also, those with teenagers may need the reminder. Now back to your post.
Sorry for the chopped nature of my comments. Sometimes, I just react and respond to a line or even a word. In this case, several times.
"Well, as a bumper sticker issue, the CTC doesn’t grip the imagination." Well, there's a solid metric! "Not like a war with heroes and villains and pictures of dead civilians in the street..." It is a war and there are pictures to be taken, but no one wants to see them. "And behind these views is the pernicious and longstanding American myth that the poor are poor from choice rather than contingent circumstances." See the poor that way IS a choice made by people who can afford choices. "This is a topic that deeply frustrates me because, simply put, the expanded CTC was the right thing to do." I raised a grandson and told him repeatedly, "do the right thing just because it is the right thing to do." Some things are not really complicated, but our politics are.
That same Puritanical streak comes into pernicious play when small government types complain that welfare breaks up families, especially black families.
Of course, when those programs were passed, the political process could handle aiding children and their mothers, but not able-bodied men, especially black men.
And I agree that it should quietly be put back into place, perhaps under a more boring name in an impenetrable tax reform bill.
But I'm not optimistic. Who would do it among our politicians?
That's a really interesting thought.
" I should add (and not just because my children read my posts) that the psychic and emotional payoff of being a parent can be immense." I hope the kids are reading this. Also, those with teenagers may need the reminder. Now back to your post.
Sorry for the chopped nature of my comments. Sometimes, I just react and respond to a line or even a word. In this case, several times.
"Well, as a bumper sticker issue, the CTC doesn’t grip the imagination." Well, there's a solid metric! "Not like a war with heroes and villains and pictures of dead civilians in the street..." It is a war and there are pictures to be taken, but no one wants to see them. "And behind these views is the pernicious and longstanding American myth that the poor are poor from choice rather than contingent circumstances." See the poor that way IS a choice made by people who can afford choices. "This is a topic that deeply frustrates me because, simply put, the expanded CTC was the right thing to do." I raised a grandson and told him repeatedly, "do the right thing just because it is the right thing to do." Some things are not really complicated, but our politics are.