The ruling parties of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Komeito reached an agreement November 10 on giving out a benefit amounting 100,000 Yen per child younger than 18 years of age. Eligible recipients will be children whose parents have an annual income below 9.6 million Yen. Some criticize that the step is just splashing of money.
BENEFITS MUST NOT PRODUCE DISCRIMINATION AND SOCIAL DIVISIONS
The Komeito, the junior partner of the LDP, proposed, during the election campaign last October, assisting younger generation by giving out \100,000 per one. The party calls it ‘a benefit to support the future of children’. After the election, the religious party requested the LDP to conclude an accord to implement the program.
An income limit increases time-consuming jobs
President Yamaguchi Natsuo of the Komeito said; benefits of cash handouts worth \50 thousand will be made before the year-end and another 50 thousand Yen in the form of coupons will be distributed in March-April next year. Vouchers will be provided to buy specific items on education and related activities. An income limit of a household is set below \9.6 million a year. He adds that 90% of children of the eligible families will be covered by the plan.
As for the cash payment to all children regardless the household’s income, the LDP had opposed, and the income limit was introduced. The amount 100, 000 Yen represents a full sum of the current Child Allowance benefit (= Jido-teate) paid to recipients in need. At present the scheme of monthly \5,000 benefit does not set a level of annual income, but thee sytem will end October 2022. Children of households whose annual incomes exceed 12 million Yen will not be recipients. A revision of the Law on Child Allowance was made May 2021.
Concerning a cash payment to all, it is criticized as disposing of money. But to set an income cap brings additional administrative jobs, as it is hard to certify real-time incomes. A cash payment is speedier. The new policy covers high school students, but the current child allowance benefit system covers children up to junior high school students. And therefore, municipal offices in charge will have extra jobs to implement the new policy.
It’s not an economic policy
Some criticisms focus on the youth older than 19 years of age who are not eligible though they are poor. The point is right. One more payment of a special benefit worth 100 thousand Yen should be made. Commercial media report that people deposited the previous benefit money in the banks, which amounts 70% of the total value. But the cash payment is an urgent step to sustain people’s living, and not an economic policy.
Some say a cash payment will boost consumption activities to impact well on the economic development, but that depends on results. The government can have an option to heighten a tax rate for the affluent, who save the money in the bank, to recollect it. One more is ‘a tax deduction plan with a benefit’ (Please refer to the issue dated October 20 of this newspaper).
We must think over the vulnerable public services and education policies. It is essential to establish permanent systems to give a child benefit until he/she becomes a high school student, to create programs to support young people financially, to make a minimum pension plan and to raise the norms for the life protection services.
The last general election has brought a substantial growth of the Ishin Party (=Renovation Party), a rightist party. Some people analyze one of the reasons lies in that the party successfully absorbed dissatisfactions of the middle-class people who do not want tax money to be spent on the poor.
It is necessary to shift the society toward universal coverage of public services from selective one so that discrimination and social divisions may not be produced and bashing may not occur. An important point is to have a society in which everyone can lead a life safely under the common social programs.
公明党は先の総選挙で、「18歳までの子どもを対象に、１人当り一律10万円相当を支援する『未来応援給付』」を掲げ、総選挙後に連立相手の自民党に実施を求め、合意した。
所得制限は手間が
一律給付は「年収９６０万円未満」に、給付内容は「年内に現金５万円」と「来春頃に使途を定めた５万円分のクーポン配布」。公明党の山口那津男代表は、対象者世帯のほぼ９割が対象になると言う。
一律給付には自民党が反発し、対象が年収９６０万円未満になったが、現在の児童手当の満額支給対象の金額だ。なお、現在月額５千円支給の対象者の年収に上限はないが、今年５月の児童手当法改正で、22年10月からは世帯主の年収１２００万円以上には給付されなくなる。
一律給付は、バラマキという批判があるが、所得制限はリアルタイムの所得の把握が困難で事務処理に手間がかかる。迅速な支給には一律支給が望ましい。今回の支給は、高校生も対象になるが、児童手当の支給が中学生までなので、新たな事務処理になり、自治体の担当部署は処理に追われる。
経済政策ではない
また、年齢で区切られ19歳以上の生活困窮者に支給がないのは不平等だという批判もある。当然で、本来は10万円の特別定額給付金を再実施すべきだ。特別定額給付金は、７割は預金に回ったとマスコミは宣伝する。しかし、特別定額給付金は緊急な生活支援策であり、経済政策ではない。
消費拡大で、経済に好影響を与えるにしても結果論だ。また、ゆとりがあって預金に回っている人には税率を上げ回収する方法もある。「給付付き税額控除」の方法もある（本紙10月20 日号参照）。
考えなければならないのは、社会保障と教育支援が脆弱なこと。恒久的な制度として、子ども手当を一律で高校生まで支給、若者手当の創設、最低保障年金の創設、生活保護基準の引上げなどを行うことが求められる。
維新の躍進は、中間サラリーマン層が貧困層に税が使われることへの反感を取り込んだからとの分析もある。そのため、差別・分断を強めバッシングを生み出す選別主義的制度ではなく、誰もが安心して生きられる普遍主義的な制度への転換が求められる。
英訳版↓
No. 1236 Hundred-thousand Yen Benefit to Children
The ruling parties of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Komeito reached an agreement November 10 on giving out a benefit amounting 100,000 Yen per child younger than 18 years of age. Eligible recipients will be children whose parents have an annual income below 9.6 million Yen. Some criticize that the step is just splashing of money.
BENEFITS MUST NOT PRODUCE DISCRIMINATION AND SOCIAL DIVISIONS
The Komeito, the junior partner of the LDP, proposed, during the election campaign last October, assisting younger generation by giving out \100,000 per one. The party calls it ‘a benefit to support the future of children’. After the election, the religious party requested the LDP to conclude an accord to implement the program.
An income limit increases time-consuming jobs
President Yamaguchi Natsuo of the Komeito said; benefits of cash handouts worth \50 thousand will be made before the year-end and another 50 thousand Yen in the form of coupons will be distributed in March-April next year. Vouchers will be provided to buy specific items on education and related activities. An income limit of a household is set below \9.6 million a year. He adds that 90% of children of the eligible families will be covered by the plan.
As for the cash payment to all children regardless the household’s income, the LDP had opposed, and the income limit was introduced. The amount 100, 000 Yen represents a full sum of the current Child Allowance benefit (= Jido-teate) paid to recipients in need. At present the scheme of monthly \5,000 benefit does not set a level of annual income, but thee sytem will end October 2022. Children of households whose annual incomes exceed 12 million Yen will not be recipients. A revision of the Law on Child Allowance was made May 2021.
Concerning a cash payment to all, it is criticized as disposing of money. But to set an income cap brings additional administrative jobs, as it is hard to certify real-time incomes. A cash payment is speedier. The new policy covers high school students, but the current child allowance benefit system covers children up to junior high school students. And therefore, municipal offices in charge will have extra jobs to implement the new policy.
It’s not an economic policy
Some criticisms focus on the youth older than 19 years of age who are not eligible though they are poor. The point is right. One more payment of a special benefit worth 100 thousand Yen should be made. Commercial media report that people deposited the previous benefit money in the banks, which amounts 70% of the total value. But the cash payment is an urgent step to sustain people’s living, and not an economic policy.
Some say a cash payment will boost consumption activities to impact well on the economic development, but that depends on results. The government can have an option to heighten a tax rate for the affluent, who save the money in the bank, to recollect it. One more is ‘a tax deduction plan with a benefit’ (Please refer to the issue dated October 20 of this newspaper).
We must think over the vulnerable public services and education policies. It is essential to establish permanent systems to give a child benefit until he/she becomes a high school student, to create programs to support young people financially, to make a minimum pension plan and to raise the norms for the life protection services.
The last general election has brought a substantial growth of the Ishin Party (=Renovation Party), a rightist party. Some people analyze one of the reasons lies in that the party successfully absorbed dissatisfactions of the middle-class people who do not want tax money to be spent on the poor.
It is necessary to shift the society toward universal coverage of public services from selective one so that discrimination and social divisions may not be produced and bashing may not occur. An important point is to have a society in which everyone can lead a life safely under the common social programs.
December 1, 2021