A $5,000 'baby bonus' wouldn't go very far these days | Letters
As a woman, imagine being handed $5,000 every time you had a baby. If you were on the fence about being a mom, would this bonus make you change your mind? If you’re already a parent, would it make you want to have another child, or two or three?
This past week, President Trump signaled his support about a proposal that would give moms financial bonuses when they have a child. It’s all part of a plan the White House is looking at to boost our nation’s birth rates.
The baby bonus plan is one proposal being floated, according to reporting from The New York Times. Another idea is for more funding that would be used to educate women about their menstrual cycles so they can “better understand when they are ovulating.”
Those in this administration made it clear where they stand.
Vice President JD Vance said in January, “Our society has failed to recognize the obligation that one generation has to another as a core part of living in a society. So let me say very simply, I want more babies in the United States of America.”
Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency said the low birth rate keeps him up at night. “Humanity is dying,” he told Fox News in March.
It’s true that birth rates here in the United States are at historic lows. In 2024, there were about 3.6 million babies born in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which translates to about 54.6 births for every 1,000 women of reproductive age. There was a bit of a bump in numbers in 2021, but the rate quickly returned to a downward pattern.
So would a $5,000 baby bonus help boost those numbers?
When my son was born in 2009, my husband and I ended up with a bill for nearly $6,000 in out-of-pocket costs even with insurance. Research shows with insurance, most parents will end up paying a couple thousand dollars related to labor and delivery costs.
And then there’s the cost of raising a child.
Every few years, the United States Department of Agriculture releases a report about the cost of raising a child in the United States. Their most recent survey from 2015 found a family will spend nearly $13,000 a year per child for a middle-income family. That cost includes food, shelter and other necessities needed to raise a child through the age of 17, and does not include the cost of post-high school education.
Couple those costs with the fact the Trump Administration is currently considering a plan to cut funding for Head Start, which provides child care for many low-income and rural families throughout the country. Add in inflation. Consider the fact that many Americans could lose access to Medicaid or their insurance through the Affordable Care Act if these programs are cut or eliminated.
In addition, the United States trails many other countries when it come to family and maternity leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act provides only certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protective leave per year.
Seems as if that $5,000 isn’t going to go far.
If this administration wants to increase the birth rate in this country, perhaps they should look at other options beyond a $5,000 bonus. Affordable health care, quality child care and pre-school at reasonable rates, better housing costs and an actual family leave plan that rivals most other developed nations would be a better start.
Rachel Brougham is the former assistant editor of the Petoskey News-Review. You can email her at racheldbrougham@gmail.com.