Gatordoc50
Full time employment: Posting here.
jdw_fire said:there is another reason that people are having fewer children. it used to be that having lots of children was the retirement plan for the parents. parents needed alot of kids so there would be enough people to support them when they could no longer work. (they also needed alot of kids to have "free" labor to work the family farm which would then support them in their old age.) having lots of children was looked upon as having "true wealth" and for good reason. however, as work became more industrialized (and then intellectual) and safety nets (SS & medicare) & pensions became available there was less need, from a free labor, retirement and safety net perspective, for larger families. also, kids are expensive and require alot of work, added incentives to cut back once they werent needed for their labor and safety net purposes. they became more of a wealth drain than "true wealth".
Interesting point. Having children in the hopes they will take care of you involves risk. You may not be able to have children or they may choose not to help you. So the government steps in to eliminate that risk by forming insurance pools and safety nets. So eventually, there is no incentive to take risk. I think you nailed it right on the head. I'd like to add that if the government couldn't print money at will, the insurance pools would begin to dry up, benefits would be reduced and there would be a return of risk taking.