You are describing an expansion of our current welfare state. The kind of woman most interested in a $20K paycheck for having a kid is the kind we most DON'T want having kids. We want the SMART middle-class women to have kids as their career choice instead of being a lawyer, rather than the unintelligent lower-class women who have no other career options.
This is why I favor a big percentage tax credit, which will create the most incentive for upper-income women to become career mommies, with most of their husband's income shielded from taxes.
What created the two-income couple was the high tax rates.
I could be talked into that...I think that you’re right that a huge welfare payment could backfire...and that a tax credit would do much more...perhaps apply the plan as stated, but as a tax credit only to those who pay taxes...something like that.
The key is government accepting its role in trying to keep the state from collapsing in one generation...as EVERY Western country, and modern Asian country, is in the processing of doing. After all what’s the point of having a government if it does not support the viability of the society.
I think you are right on the money when you say that what created the two income family was higher taxes. You can see that the trend started in the seventies soon after the big poison pill of all the big government LBJ “great society” programs. More money to the federal government, less money for American families.
You can see this also happening in the socialist countries of Europe where the government provides everything but the people have less and less.