Word of a White House plan aimed at facilitating a return to single-income households divided the right on “limiting principles” as it flirted with socialism.
(Video Credit: Fox News)
In addition to marking an unofficial end to summer, Labor Day weekend’s passage signaled an earnest start to election campaigns. Ahead of Republicans gathering in Dallas, Texas for a midterm convention as affordability loomed large, debate heated up about a proposal to repurpose an existing childcare subsidy to pay a parent as much as $9,000 per child to be at home raising their kids.
“Under the draft new rule,” The New York Times reported, “parents who stay home with their children could benefit from the program, which typically provides about $9,000 per child each year, potentially reshaping which families get federal child are money.”
The idea floated by Vice President J.D. Vance since before his days in the Senate, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio in legislation he drafted during his congressional tenure, was akin to a proposal present in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
It would use the existing Child Care and Development Fund instituted under President Bill Clinton and direct $12 billion under the Department of Health and Human Services toward married couples where one parent works at least 35 hours per week.
Appearing on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show” with guest host Griff Jenkins, Heritage economist Peter St. Onge asserted, “Our current system almost punishes single-income families where one parent, typically the mother, stays home with the kids.”
Counted among those in favor of the proposal, the Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles took aim at critics deeming it socialism, saying, “I must have missed the chapter in Das Kapital in which Marx calls for reforming existing welfare programs to incentivize homemakers.”
Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy, wife of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, added, “First of all, I’m all for lowering taxes. Frankly, I prefer a 10% flat tax on everyone and every business — no loopholes. That will cut down a lot of government red tape and bureaucracy. Keep it simple.”
“But I’ve really changed the way I think about policy & economics as I’ve aged. The primary purpose of government,” she continued, “besides national defense, is to support what is best for children & families. If there’s a way to help or encourage mothers to stay home with their kids, especially in the first four years, I’m all for. You can call it socialism. I call it putting families first.”
First of all, I’m all for lowering taxes. Frankly, I prefer a 10% flat tax on everyone and every business – no loopholes. That will cut down a lot of government red tape and bureaucracy. Keep it simple.
But I’ve really changed the way I think about policy & economics as I’ve… https://t.co/j35xIBs8Lf— Rachel Campos-Duffy (@RCamposDuffy) September 7, 2026
Contrasting those celebrating the idea of the program’s use with an “ends justify the means” mentality, others decried what they considered to be a Republican-branded form of socialism in place of simply allowing families to keep their money in the first place.
Following up on Insurrection Barbie’s post deeming the intended use of the program as “a government reward for performing a socially preferred role,” warning of how it could be reimagined under a future administration, nationally syndicated radio host Dana Loesch spoke to pandering with universal basic income.
“The new Republican establishment wants to flirt with a UBI for votes — and also to establish a method of half-in dependency as a control mechanism. They saw the left do it and think they can do it better because the R makes it more virtuous. It’s really what this is,” wrote Loesch
The new Republican establishment wants to flirt with a UBI for votes — and also to establish a method of half-in dependency as a control mechanism. They saw the left do it and think they can do it better because the R makes it more virtuous.
It’s really what this is. https://t.co/qgd2H54Ox8
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) September 7, 2026
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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