Letter: Child tax credit actually saves money. Romney and Lee should support the bill that expands it.

I am surprised to hear that Sen. Mitt Romney is unsure about supporting a tax bill that will strengthen Utah’s families and economy. Especially since our entire U.S. House delegation did. So thanks go out to Reps. John Curtis, Blake Moore, Burgess Owens and Celeste Maloy.

The bill currently under consideration in the Senate includes tax breaks for business research and development and also expands the child tax credit (CTC), such that, for instance, the credit will be provided on a per-child basis, helping to stabilize our young families.

Sen. Romney specifically cited CTC costs as his concern. But the CTC actually saves money. Here’s why:

When little kids don’t get enough nutrition, their brains can be damaged, hampering their ability to learn throughout life. This harms the child’s ability to fulfill their potential, while the rest of us miss out on their unrealized contributions as well. Instead, these kids are more likely to drop out of school and turn to crime. And that costs all of us a lot of money in the form of lost goods, plus greater expenses for police, courts and prisons. It’s cheaper to just feed kids in the first place. It’s more humane to make sure that little children have adequate nutrition, too.

So I urge Sen. Mitt Romney and Sen. Mike Lee to vote “Yes” on this important economy-boosting and family-stabilizing tax bill when it comes before the Senate.

Georgia Platts, South Jordan

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