"That appeal to kids" = the appeal, or request, is directed TO the children Should it not be "that appeal in the NAME of children" ? Perhaps I am misreading, but...

@Caroline Hello. Here are paragraphs above and below that paragraph. A common political strategy is to highlight beneficiaries while ignoring or underestimating costs. Korea’s national pension fund is now 1.3 trillion won in debt ― did advocates mention this when the program was created and later expanded? Highlighting benefits while ignoring costs works in tandem with the “stalking horse” approach. That is, hide your agenda behind sympathetic figures, the way bad guys hid behind horses in the old Hollywood Western movies. Kwak and his allies have the “perfect” strategy to implement universal welfare ― free meals for kids to soften opposition. He concludes his justification for a universal program with “... in contrast to selective welfare which tends to be accompanied by stigma and discrimination.” That appeal to kids tugs at the heartstrings, but decision-makers must make sound decisions that don’t burden those same kids in the future. David Boaz, of the Cato Institute, recently said that ending the stigma of welfare is a mistake. “We need to re-establish that stigma,” Boaz said, not only for food stamp recipients, but also for corporate CEOs and farmers receiving subsidies from the government. “People should be embarrassed about being on the public dole.” Boaz was responding to a New York Times article reporting that the stigma of welfare in America has disappeared, mainly due to the government allowing the use of debit cards rather than food stamps.

It would be easier to comment if I had seen more of the speech or paper you are quoting from. But I don't think it means it tugs at kids' heartstrings. I would guess 'that appeal to kids' means that he mentions the impact on children, and because of that it 'tugs at the heartstrings' of the adult audience. In other words, the writer/ speaker mentions kids, and so the readers /listeners are likely to be swayed by emotion thinking of the impacts on children. But decision-makers must make sound decisions - in other words, decision-makers should not make decisions just based on emotion, but should carefully way up all the costs and benefits of all the options in a rational way. That's my guess, but would be easier if you shared more of the paper you are reading. Hope this helps