That is the beauty ( read evil genius ) of socialism. Call a handout a "credit" and most of the populace believes it, and since everyone thinks they pay too much in taxes, then they are clearly entitled. Never mind that they already got back what they paid.
The second part of this crap is that anyone who has a dollar more than anyone else is by definition "the rich". "the rich" have what they have not by hard work and sacrifice but by some kind of nefarious scheming and therefore deserve to pay more.
Mass media is as much to blame as any in this,...they deliberately ignore the hard financial facts about who does and does not pay.

The Big Lie works. Unfortunately.

Quit yer whining! My tax credit (which is less than 10% of what my wife and I pay together in taxes) is barely a drop in the bucket when it comes to raising two girls.
This will almost make up for the marriage penalty my wife and I have been paying for twelve years.
I agree that people who don't pay taxes shouldn't get a tax break, but finally we are going to get a little relief from the tax man.

BTW, we are going to do our part and return the rebate to the economy, my wife is going to spend it on home improvement materials as soon as she gets her hands on it.

I think you missed my point. YOU are the one that decided to have kids. I see where you have a greater "need" to have lower taxes, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have equal treatment under the law. The way things are set up, I have to pay higher taxes just because I didn't make any babies. Meanwhile, you are using more government services, and paying less for it. From a purely economic (and heartless, cruel, kitten stomping point of view) you should be paying more taxes, not less.

As for the marriage penalty, it was hideous and hopefully is long gone. Still, don't try playing the "reparations" card with me.

If I had my way, we'd all be paying A LOT less taxes.

I'm not trying to play the "reparations" card, I'm just saying that it is nice to finally get a break.

And remember, I pay my own salary with my taxes, so I really get screwed.

THANK YOU Ravenwood for saying what I only dared to THINK TO MYSELF. Being childless and child-free has its disadvantages. People with children are "rewarded" in ways that people without children can never be.

I could go on. But I won't. You've said it so well!

We got penalized for getting married, then are penalized by not having children. On top of that, I am paying my local school district a couple of thousand a year (via property taxes) to educate someone else's kids - another penalty. Just gotta love it!

Ravenwood-
I think more people agree with you than you think.

Thanks for saying it for all of us who do.

Bogie, I can see your point, but the tax dollars you pay for education benefit childless couples and singles as well. A good school system has obvious benefits on your property values, a fact which is evident in many communities. As long as my tax dollars have a positive or tangible effect, I'm not going to complain too much. Its all of the bullshit waste that really aggravates me.

Tazteck,

That is an excellent point. Having a good school system does benefit all homeowners, no just those with children. However, more tax dollars don't always make a good school system. Atlanta government schools spend over $10,000 per pupil, the highest in Georgia and 60% higher than the national average, yet they are one of the worst school systems.

Also, I wonder how higher property taxes benefit those of us that live in apartments.

I thought republicans killed all of the children?

TazTeck - If the local school system was good, I wouldn't be complaining! We spend close to $10,000 per pupil and can't manage to prepare any of the kids for anything better than flipping burgers or joining the local paper mill where they only have to push a button on a machine. That's doing wonders for my property value - NOT!

I thought so strongly about this topic (and all of the other issues that go with choosing to be childless) that I answered a question in the regard on ABC.com. For that, I got a free trip to NYC and a place on a panel on 2-20/20. Great experience, but when the show ran, many of the clips of the child-free seemed diminished in comparison to the coverage given the panel with children. It was all in support of the book Baby Boon, How Family Friendly America Cheats the Childless by Elinor Burkett. Taxes are only a small part of how we are discriminated against. Look at the dollar amount of benefits received by your fellow employees when they have a family. As an HR person I'll tell the parents to stop the intake of breath right now - yes you pay a LOT for benefits, but in most cases (dependent upon the company) the $$ spent on your portion by the company far outweighs those paid on behalf of an individual. How about extra pay for the childless to make up for the discrepancy? What about flex time for my personal CHOICES (because child rearing is a choice), such as reading and working out, like you get for family reasons? So many issues, not nearly enough time to get the point across!!

Were you actually surprised that ABC (who's owned by Disney) would be pandering biased toward people with children?

Yes, it totally bites that parents, whom have been blessed with kids, are getting another handout from the government, while us single people, many of whom cannot have kids (as if that's not enough punishment), now have to pay for your kids.

So my whole life I get to pay for your kids, with my taxes for their education and now this welfare child tax credit (let's call it what it is), and then no one is there to take care of me when I get old. Real fair.

Sure, you parents are all like "this is great" because it's for you. If any of you are fair minded, please respond to this. For those of you that are greedy handout lovers, go ahead and say how I'm such and such, etc... but you are probably the same ones who are for the war and killing American soldiers by putting them in harm's way so go ahead and not think for the rest of your life, what do I care?

Both of my kids still live at home. I am glad that they still live at home to.
They are 21 and 18. The youngest is in college and we still get to claim him on our taxes. I think that if your kids still live at home and is under the age of 24 and is in college and you still claim them on your taxes, I think that everyone and myself ought to get to claim the child tax credit and get a check.

Thanks,
just making a living

Gee, I guess this puts a whole different light on the be productive not reproductive image that we try teach younger school age children. I was able to get through my teens and 20's, put myself through college while working and I did not decide to do the family thing. GUESS I MADE THE WRONG DECISION! Does the govt realize that this means that a family with 5 children will be AWARDED 2,000 DOLLARS. Guess who is going to be paying for that? Have more kids, here's your money! Don't we already have enough people in this world? I was always unsure if I wanted to be responsible for bringing a child into a world such as this.

I have a question, and I was hoping that someone could help me in answering it. If so email me at [email protected]. Anyway, the question is this. If my mom claims me in her taxes, but I work and pay taxes every week, at the end of the year do I still get my taxes back? Is it made out to me, or in my mom's name? How do I get my taxes back? Will I get all of them back? When do I file for them? I really need help with this, so anyone who knows for sure, please email me and let me know how all of this works.

Sarah,

Even if you are claimed as a dependent, you still must file a tax return with the IRS. If you are owed a refund, the IRS will send you a check, or if you owe the IRS, you are responsible for sending them a check.

I'm not sure exactly how much of an affect being claimed as a dependent will have on your taxes. However, I am fairly certain that there is a "yes/no" box on the 1040 form for "Does anyone claim you as a dependent?".

first of all ,,you have to be a working parent in order to get the credit..and both my husband and i work hard,,,being at work and home with our 3 daughters,,,it is not like, we are getting welfare and foodstamps for free..all though there is alot of women who have tons of kids in your inner city areas that have been receiving freeeeeeeee everything for years ..and they can work..//they dont want birth control because of the free money..so before you lecture me "why dont you go to the slums of some of our US citys..and tell them ..see if you come out alive..ha ha .... AND FOR THE PERSON WHO SAID SOMETHING ABOUT "HAVING TO PAY FOR SCHOOL TAX/AND ALL THE SO CALLED CHILDREN THAT YOU DONT HAVE..IS UNECCESSARY//WHY DONT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS ..IF THE WORLD STOPS HAVING CHILDREN..WHERE IS OUR FUTURE..WHO WILL FIGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY 20YRS FROM NOW.WHO WILL BE OUR DRS AND NURSES..//

That still is not a logical argument for making people who use less government services pay more for them.

The argument that people with children "need" the money more than people without children is a pillar of social redistribution of income. Need should never factor into the equation. Who decides who needs what? The government? How do they know what I need and what you need?

The argument that without children we'd all die off is a complete red herring. Nobody is advocating that we stop reproducing. I'm just saying that having children is a conscious decision, and it costs money. The idea that you would have children and then try to get your neighbors who don't have children to try to foot the bill, is inconceivable.

I completely agree with Ravenwood. That child credit is a bunch of crap! Why in the world should you be exempt from paying taxes just because you have kids? Shouldn't the single people get a bigger break since they are contributing to the economy rather than having four kids suck up the resources? It's unbelievable! No wonder the country is in so much debt.
Since when does a child equal a $3000 tax return? Why? It's YOUR child that's using the government-paid schooling, among other things. I don't see why single people, who make the same amount and pay in the same amount of taxes should have to PAY taxes, when those with children get THOUSANDS back.
Rewarding a mistake...
right along with welfare and foodstamps. I guess unprotected sex goes a lot further than you think!

Hello. I just stumbled across this web page and couldn't agree with ravenwood more!!!!! Having a child is a CHOICE that you make and us people who decide not to have a kid (Overpopulation drives me insane!) get to foot the bill for your kid. And Ravenwood I've got one even better! Me and my husband have worked every since we were 16. He pays child support to his ex-wife who didn't work the entire time they where married, and got everything in the divorce. He pays all year long, then she turns around, doesn't have to claim that income, (but by golly we do) and gets to claim both kids. They slam us with taxes and all we get is the "standard deduction". They have a fine home and a new car (she only worked 4 months out of this year) and we have to live in a Mobile home and live payday to payday. All it boils down to is economics. They reward breeders because they produce little tax payers, that is if they grow up and actually work instead of getting on welfare. Thanks for letting me vent and its great to know there's at least a couple of Smart people like you out there!!!!