On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks praised the child tax credit and family leave provisions President Joe Biden has proposed, but said that “you can pour a lot of money into Head Start without a lot of results. It’s a program that needs to be reformed.”
Brooks said, “The child tax credit, that gives you a lot of money that you can, if you want to spend it on daycare, you can do that. If you feel like you want to stay home, you can cut back to part-time and stay home. And so that gives parents ultimate control. I think the family leave is very important. Because it shows that we’re a culture that puts family over work. Other parts, I’m less comfortable with. I’m for Head Start, but you can pour a lot of money into Head Start without a lot of results. It’s a program that needs to be reformed. As for the childcare, I would love to see that money that goes to the childcare piece put into the child tax credit, so the parents who want childcare can choose it. I don’t think the administration should be in the business of trying to move people into jobs and get parents working.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett