The latest vice presidential debate between Senator JD Vance and Governor Tim Walz, both leaders emphasized that families are the backbone of America. However, they err in their approach by suggesting that more government involvement can solve families’ challenges. From increasing i child tax credit in promoting new social programs, their solutions mean that the government can strengthen families. This is a dangerous misconception.
Instead of empowering families, government programs often create dependency and stifle personal responsibility.
Families thrive when they are able to shape their own futures, not when government programs force them to. Each time the government comes in with a new program or benefit, it curtails that freedom, replacing it with control.
What begins as well-intentioned aid often leads to dependence on the government. For example, the expansion of the child tax credit may appear to help families in the short term, but at bottom, it is just another way of redistributing wealth. The government takes from some families to provide for others, often with strings attached, reducing overall freedom and fostering a culture of dependency.
As Milton Friedman often argued, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Every dollar spent on social media has to come from somewhere—to today’s taxpayers or, worse, to future generations. earn credit.
When politicians encourage the government to borrow more money, they are not helping families; they burden the very children they claim to feed. This government intervention does not encourage self-confidence and destroys the virtues that strengthen families, such as responsibility and initiative.
The real solution to helping families is not government intervention—little.
Reducing government spending and lowering taxes allows families to keep more of their hard-earned money. When families control more of their income, they can make decisions that fit their unique needs, whether it’s saving for a home, investing in their children’s education, or starting a small business.
Families are much better equipped to allocate resources than Washington officials.
In addition, reducing the size of government programs promotes independence. Work requirements, for example, are important in reducing welfare dependency. When people are encouraged to contribute to the community through meaningful work, they regain a sense of dignity and self-respect—key factors in family stability and strength.
Government subsidies without work incentives trap people in cycles of poverty and dependency. Over time, these people lose the motivation to improve their circumstances, weakening the family.
A critical area where this is seen is in the criminal justice system.
Too many fathers, especially in minority communities, are incarcerated for non-violent crimes, leaving families without a breadwinner and causing emotional and financial stress. This is another case where excessive government intervention—in the form of overcriminalization—has done more harm than good.
Reforming the system to focus on rehabilitation and second chances would do far more to help struggling families than government welfare checks. Strong families depend on positive, current role models. Keeping families together is essential to ending the poverty that plagues many communities.
The rising cost of living is another major problem for families, but government intervention often exacerbates the problem.
In housing, health care, and education, laws and taxes increase costs, making it harder for families to survive. For example, restrictive zoning laws and excessive property taxes drive up housing costs. Instead of creating new government programs to subsidize housing, a better approach would be to remove these regulations and reduce the tax burden, allowing the free market to provide affordable solutions.
The free market has a proven track record of lowering prices and increasing access, while government involvement often does the opposite.
Government should protect the rights of individuals and ensure a fair playing field, not interfere with redistributing wealth or trying to manage the economy. Personal responsibility and economic freedom are the keys to prosperity. Families need the freedom to choose how to work, spend and live their lives.
Many government programs will not strengthen families—freedom will.
Politicians like Vance and Walz, while well-intentioned, miss the broader point. Families do not need additional government programs; they need more freedom. This includes the freedom to work, to spend their money as they see fit, and to live without excessive rules. By reducing the size of government, reducing taxes, and eliminating burdensome regulations, we give families the tools they need to succeed on their own terms.
The key to strengthening families is not to expand the government but to reduce its role. Families thrive when they have the freedom to make their own decisions without the heavy hand of the government imposing on their lives. The best way to help families is to allow them to keep more of what they earn, remove administrative red tape that blocks opportunity, and foster a culture of personal responsibility. Free families will pursue their goals, society will prosper—not only for them but for the whole country.
Vance Ginn, Ph.D.is president of Ginn Economic Consulting, host of the Let People Prosper Show, and chief economist for the Trump White House OMB. Follow him on X.com at @VanceGinn.