PNC Financial Services has released its annual Christmas Price Index which shows the current cost for one set of each of the gifts given in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas – and the news is not merry.
For example, the price for six geese-a-laying jumped a whopping 71.4 percent in 2014 compared to the year before. Three French hens saw the price jump from $165 to $181.50 over the same period. Overall the total price for all 12 gifts – from one partridge in a pear tree to 12 drummers drumming – rose 1.4 percent in 2014 compared to 2013. If you bought one set of each gift featured in the song it would cost you $27,673.21 and the cumulative cost of all the gifts when you count each repetition in the song (364 gifts) would be a cool $116,273.06.
PNC’s Christmas Price Index featuring The Twelve Days of Christmas demonstrates how much the price of goods keeps rising. When you consider how much families spend on goods and services combined with increasing taxes, no-fault divorce laws and a legal redefinition of marriage, you can see why the American family is suffering.
One area where Christians need to press for change is in tax policy for families. Our tax structure is antiquated, dysfunctional and anti-family. Our current tax code taxes unfairly and teams with an outmoded welfare system to trap poor families in poverty. At the head of the line are single-parent mothers.
We must do something to encourage couples to stay married. One way to do that is by adopting a tax policy that is family-friendly. There are several good tax reform plans out there. One, for example, introduced by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., consolidates the plethora of existing income tax brackets into two —15 percent and 35 percent—and eliminating or reforming deductions, especially those that disproportionately benefit the privileged at everyone else’s expense.
In addition, their plan would eliminate the so-called marriage penalty, which imposes higher taxes on married couples than if they had filed individually. It would also target the parent tax penalty. Parents are, in effect, double charged for the federal senior entitlement programs. They of course pay payroll taxes, like everyone else. But unlike adults without children, they also shoulder the financial burden of raising the next generation of taxpayers, who will grow up to fund Social Security and Medicare for all future seniors.
Children are not consumer goods. They are investments parents make in their futures and in the future of America. This should be reflected in our tax code. Why not augment the current child tax credit of $1,000 with an additional $2,500 credit for working parents? As Lee and Rubio suggest, make it applicable against income taxes and payroll taxes, both of which place more burden on lower- and middle-income families.
Some libertarians, concerned only about economic growth and less with social issues – might wonder if such tax relief for families would accomplish the intended goals. But for Americans, the goal of economic policy isn’t simply growth, but freedom for people in their pursuit of happiness. Many Americans invest their personal economic freedom in children and not just in commerce. They also choose to invest in human and social capital rather than just financial capital. I agree with Lee and Rubio, it is wrong to punish such a choice.
No-fault divorce continues to wreak havoc on the American family. The laws need to change, but the narcissistic demands of a promiscuous, sex-crazed industrial complex, make that difficult. We could start, however, by passing marriage covenant laws that would, for example, require people to attend pre-marital counseling before the state would issue them a marriage license. The counseling would not have to be religious in nature so as not to violate the principle of separation of church and state. It could include any type of certified counselor or psychologist. At least we would be taking a step toward affirming the sanctity of marriage, thus strengthening our families.
Finally, we must continue to resist redefining marriage. God has said it is to be between a man and a woman. Unwise people may convince a government otherwise, but the Word of God will stand forever. Any society that adopts a definition of marriage contrary to God’s does so at its own peril.
As we gather with our families this Christmas, be sure to pause and thank God for His blessings and for creating the family. Ask Him for wisdom as we move into a new year and commit ourselves to electing and praying for public officials to pass policies that strengthen America’s families.
Thanks for reading The Pathway. Its staff and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!