Earlier this year, congress approved a $168 billion economic stimulus package that aimed to provide a temporary boost to the economy through handing out checks to the masses. While the package was a bipartisan compromise, critics have spoken from both sides. While some feel that granting a tax rebate to hardworking Americans will help ease the strain of troubled economic times, others, including myself, argue that it is a short-term solution to a long-term problem.

Inherent in the foundation of Bush’s stimulus package is the idea that money is the antidote to all of our social problems. What is missing from this equation is the reverence of community and tangible social support that the Bush administration has slowly but surely eroded in the last eight years through slashing funding for social service programs all over the United States.

If issuing stimulus checks is a flawed remedy, what would a long-term solution look like? The answer is simple: committing to the overall health of families is the key to securing a favorable economic future. A stimulus package for mothers would a holistic, progressive move toward supporting healthy communities, and strengthening the social networks that are crucial to the positive development of our children.

The online, grassroots organization for building a true family-friendly America is MomsRising.org. The foundation of their work is manifested in the M.O.T.H.E.R. acronym, which calls for, among other things, maternity and paternity leave, open and flexible work, reliable after-school programs, and healthcare for all children. These resources are crucial to communities and have the power to allow parents to simultaneously build careers and families, without having to sacrifice one at the expense of the other.

If reliable childcare was available to all families, extra money would not be needed to help pay for a past-due day-care bill. If basic healthcare was provided for all American children, the government would not have to issue a check to help parents pay for astronomical costs of check-ups and routine medical care. If parents had family-friendly, flexible work schedules, moms and dads would not have to worry about sacrificing a day of pay to tend to the needs of a sick child or other family emergency.

Imagine what $168 billion could accomplish for our families if we committed to a real economic stimulus package—one that stimulates parenthood, rather than a fleeting solution to a problem that is here to stay. We need well-rounded and educated kids to help solve the problems that we are creating for the future. Building a family-friendly America is possible, if we look to long term, community-oriented solutions, rather than near-sighted political gimmicks that may seem appealing at first, but ultimately do more harm than good.