'Some of the Harshest Cuts in Memory to Government Benefit Programs for Families and Children'

Why so little support from the political right for programs that help children?:

Pro-Baby, but Stingy With Money, by Eduardo Porter, NY Times: Conservatives have a particularly soft spot for babies. They tend to have more children than liberals and they are much more likely to oppose abortion rights. They also appreciate babies’ power.

In December, Ross Douthat wrote an Op-Ed column for The New York Times titled “More Babies, Please,” which noted that the United States’ relatively high birthrates would give it an edge against aging rivals around the world.

But there is an odd inconsistency in conservatives’ stance on procreation: many also support some of the harshest cuts in memory to government benefit programs for families and children.

First Focus, an advocacy group for child-friendly policies, will release on Wednesday its latest “Children’s Budget,” which shows how federal spending on children has declined more than 15 percent in real terms from its high in 2010, when the fiscal stimulus law raised spending on programs like Head Start and K-12 education.

Some school districts have been forced to fire teachers, cut services and even shorten the school week. Head Start has cut its rolls. Families have lost housing support. And the 2014 budget passed by Republicans in the House cuts investments in children further — sharply reducing money for the Departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services. ...

If conservatives truly believe that the United States needs more babies, they might temper their hostility to programs that help families afford them. ...