Another voice pointing out the problem
In Property class this last semester, the spring section of the course was introduced with a discussion of the use of rent control or subsidies to generate affordable housing. In keeping with the theme of "The Tragedy of the Commons" which seems to be the whole story of Property in a nutshell, we discussed the pros and cons of applying either governmental regulation on property owners (rent control) or artificially stimulating a segment of the market (via subsidies, either supply-side or demand-side). The class, largely consisting of renters feeling the pinch of housing costs, enthusiastically engaged in the debate. It was easy to see the problem of not-enough or too-expensive housing... everyone needs a place to live, right?
But it's not so easy to see the problem of not-enough-children. Though my generation (yes, I'm an X-er) has long known that Social Security is a bogus farce because the whopping baby-boomers just before us will eat it up for lunch (breakfast, dinner, and midnight-snack) without so much as returning manure-mulch when they're done. But the principle goes beyond that... as a social fabric, all our governmental services (provided for the people, by the people, remember?) depend on a fresh crop of educated, healthy, reliable young people.
You don't get young people without getting babies and children. But society has been making it harder, and less worthwhile, to have and raise children. (I heard on the radio the other day that Boulder city is going to implement policies limiting the size of cars people can drive in town by shrinking the parking spaces... just one more way to make it impossible to have more than one or two children. I'm so sick of the complainers about SUVs... I'd like to know HOW ELSE anybody expects to tote 4 or more children these days... I've got friends with 9 and 10 kids, and they HAVE to drive SUVs!) So now, financially and socially, there is no reward for parenting. And, let me tell you, love isn't enough (kids can make you insane... even when you love them unabashedly).
So I echo the question asked in the above linked article: what can be done to make parenting more rewarding?
But it's not so easy to see the problem of not-enough-children. Though my generation (yes, I'm an X-er) has long known that Social Security is a bogus farce because the whopping baby-boomers just before us will eat it up for lunch (breakfast, dinner, and midnight-snack) without so much as returning manure-mulch when they're done. But the principle goes beyond that... as a social fabric, all our governmental services (provided for the people, by the people, remember?) depend on a fresh crop of educated, healthy, reliable young people.
You don't get young people without getting babies and children. But society has been making it harder, and less worthwhile, to have and raise children. (I heard on the radio the other day that Boulder city is going to implement policies limiting the size of cars people can drive in town by shrinking the parking spaces... just one more way to make it impossible to have more than one or two children. I'm so sick of the complainers about SUVs... I'd like to know HOW ELSE anybody expects to tote 4 or more children these days... I've got friends with 9 and 10 kids, and they HAVE to drive SUVs!) So now, financially and socially, there is no reward for parenting. And, let me tell you, love isn't enough (kids can make you insane... even when you love them unabashedly).
So I echo the question asked in the above linked article: what can be done to make parenting more rewarding?
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