Yahoo! News - Some Parents Question Wisdom of Tax Cuts: "For millions of middle-class families, the check is in the mail — $400, $800, perhaps more — courtesy of Congress. Parents benefiting from the expanded child tax credit will welcome the cash, but some question the wisdom of such payouts at a time of deficits and cutbacks.
'I'd rather have the public services and the public schools have the money they need,' said Jean Powers, 41, a mother of two from Beaverton, Ore. 'I'm not happy with it.'
Even more displeased are some of the low-income parents not receiving the checks — notably those who earn less than roughly $26,000 and are excluded from the credit because they don't pay enough federal income tax.
'I'm very angry,' said Linda Hayes, 40, an office manager in Grand Rapids, Mich. A single mother, she supports a 14-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter on a $23,000 salary.
'I'm tired of working hard and still not being able to provide properly for my children,' she said. 'I'm tired of having to choose canned vegetables instead of fresh ones. I feel I don't count, my kids don't count.'
She said some better-off families might simply invest their payments; she would have used hers to get car repairs and corrective lens for her son, who lacks medical insurance. "
- posted by geoff @ #