Reply #34: the sanctity of parenthood

[welshTerrier2]

i've been meaning to write a thread on this issue one of these days. talk about one of the great American taboos.

right now, our tax code gives a special tax discount to parents with children. i suppose the idea is to recognize how expensive it is to have kids. well, kindly though that may be, maybe we should be giving larger tax discounts to people who don't have kids. perhaps none of this tax code manipulation is warranted when there isn't a bona fide economic need. maybe this special tax treatment should only be available to people with income below a certain level.

so, zero kids = big discount; one kid slightly smaller discount; two kids smaller still and so on ... more than three kids, maybe start tacking on surcharges ...

but nooooooooo, can't tinker with the taboos ...

the Census Bureau study referenced in the OP says that our population will double by the end of the century. double traffic. double crowded schools. double water needs. double energy demands. technology might help a little; it's hard to imagine we can handle a doubling of population. our political systems won't dare address these realities ... it doesn't make the problems any less real ...