One more tax opinion

One thing that always annoys me about tax politics is the constant bleat, “Families! Families!” Why they hell don’t they just put out big brother type posters that scream “Go f*ck like bunnies! Multiply! Increase our numbers!”
People are rewarded financially for having children, and penalized for not having them. As a single guy with no dependents, I pay a much higher tax than a couple with a child. Why? Because the government gives them deductions and credits. Even though the three of them use many more government services than I do. For instance, from the Post:

For families with children younger than 17, it is the per-child tax credit that will make a difference. Under the bill, the credit jumps to $1,000 per child, up from the $600 that had been scheduled for this year. As a credit, an amount that gets deducted from the income tax owed, this change would cut the taxes of a family with three children by as much as an additional $1,200.

The bill includes an extra bonus for parents: The additional child credit will be paid out to families in advance, beginning in July. Who gets a check will be determined by the number of children younger than 17 listed on the family’s 2002 tax return.

So the burden of paying for services to children falls on those of us who have none. Part of paying taxes is to make services available to those who cannot afford them, to spread some money down the ladder – in a Democratic administration, anyway. On some level it is appropriate for me to be paying for schools and health care simply because it strengthens our nation – at least, if we had decent schools and health care it would. But it’s not appropriate for the parents to not pay! I simply don’t understand the concept of rewarding people for having children. And I don’t understand why the government should be in the business of encouraging it.