Brenton Smith on the “Second-Litter Subsidy”

Over at FedSmith, Brenton Smith writes on the Social Security benefits paid to the children of retirement-age fathers, known as the “second-litter subsidy.” If a person of retirement age has a child, they are allowed to receive a child benefit in addition to their own retirement benefits, regardless of their income.

But as Smith points out, there’s more going on than simply a facet of the benefit formula, including politics and intergenerational fairness. Read on.