Looping the Hen

Bribes for babies...

The part that struck me most about this article is the $960 cash subsidy per month for a third child. That is around what all of my bills run monthly. Assuming they only get half that for child 1 and 2, and you are looking at potentially $2000 monthly, tax free and in cash, on top of all the other child care subsidies and job security for 3 years following a child (potentially nine years job protection after your 3rd child!). Even if you choose to work, you have 36 paid holidays yearly, plus another 4-6 weeks paid vacation. That's all of 194 actual workdays yearly for those keeping score at home. I thought I was doing pretty well with my 3 weeks vacation and 11 paid holidays yearly, for a total of around 235 actual workdays yearly.

To reverse negative population growth, which is a death sentence on a society, many measures are 'appropriate'. Although my Libertarian instincts scream at the mere notion of such a grand cash-for-babies scheme, I understand a nation-state's survival instinct on that scale (I could even think of it as an odd form of national self-defense). However, the amount of resentment your average single, childless person could feel is potentially huge. Which I guess is the point, as they are trying to turn single, childless people into income-redistributing, check-collecting mothers and fathers.