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Hypothesis: people mostly say having kids makes them happy, because they know that's the right answer and they've never actually stopped to evaluate that statem

Hypothesis: people mostly say having kids makes them happy, because they know that's the right answer and they've never actually stopped to evaluate that statement since the child was 2 days old and the joy hadn't worn off. Like most things, I suspect it's an opinion that's formed and then never reflected on unless something major comes along to force a correction of it. As an aside to this, there's a lot that society and governance can do to make life easier for parents both in the short and long term. Places that do that make the statement more likely to be true, as the article suggests.

theseatoms 10y ago
> As an aside to this, there's a lot that society and governance can do to make life easier for parents both in the short and long term. And further subsidize child-bearing? Property taxes already directly fund public schools in most localities in the US.
- SCAQTony 10y ago
  If we further subsidized child-bearing we would have fewer abortions which for my personal socio-economic beliefs (YMMV) would be a great thing but would the right wing allow that? NO! — Ironic, huh?
  - JackFr 10y ago
    Among those who really see abortion as a compelling issue many are pretty far left on immigration, national defense, capital punishment and social welfare programs. They find themselves stuck in a right wing they're not terribly comfortable in because they were drummed out of the Democratic Party, through its doctrinaire insistence on the abortion license.
    - linkregister 10y ago
      You see this especially strongly in the Catholic community; abortion is almost universally condemned, while the rest of the issues you mentioned are supported. Catholics also traditionally aligned with the Democratic Party (Democratic-Republicans). While you can find a small minority of Democratic politicians who identify as anti-abortion, they typically aren't active about it.
      - dragonwriter 10y ago
        > You see this especially strongly in the Catholic community; abortion is almost universally condemned This actually isn't true; while abortion (both the act and its legality) are condemned in strong terms by the Catholic hierarchy, opinion polling has consistently shown the US Catholic community has roughly the same distribution of views on abortion and its legality as the general public.
        JackFr 10y ago
        Splitting hairs, but when Quinnipiac broke out Catholics who were weekly communicants as opposed to merely 'identifying', there were significant differences.
        dragonwriter 10y ago
        > Splitting hairs, but when Quinnipiac broke out Catholics who were weekly communicants as opposed to merely 'identifying', there were significant differences. Further splitting hairs, what they actual broke down was weekly Mass attenders vs. others, not weekly communicants. Those aren't the same thing. But, yes, unsurprisingly, adherence to authority on the one point correlates with adherence to authority on the other.
- whatshisface 10y ago
  Children are an absolutely massive financial net-negative for all quality-of-life levels above the poverty line, and a few below. They will contribute to society far above their cost, but never pay back their parents. Maybe we should subsidize childcare more? Surely, that would better align parent's benefit with civilization's.
  - greyman 10y ago
    > Children are an absolutely massive financial net-negative for all quality-of-life levels above the poverty line Not in my experience. My kid cost me money, but quality of life increased a lot since everything is now much more enjoyable. Also, kids do not pay back their parents with money, but they pay back much more with their love, and making life much more enjoyable for the parents.

theseatoms 10y ago

> As an aside to this, there's a lot that society and governance can do to make life easier for parents both in the short and long term. And further subsidize child-bearing? Property taxes already directly fund public schools in most localities in the US.

SCAQTony 10y ago
If we further subsidized child-bearing we would have fewer abortions which for my personal socio-economic beliefs (YMMV) would be a great thing but would the right wing allow that? NO! — Ironic, huh?
- JackFr 10y ago
  Among those who really see abortion as a compelling issue many are pretty far left on immigration, national defense, capital punishment and social welfare programs. They find themselves stuck in a right wing they're not terribly comfortable in because they were drummed out of the Democratic Party, through its doctrinaire insistence on the abortion license.
  - linkregister 10y ago
    You see this especially strongly in the Catholic community; abortion is almost universally condemned, while the rest of the issues you mentioned are supported. Catholics also traditionally aligned with the Democratic Party (Democratic-Republicans). While you can find a small minority of Democratic politicians who identify as anti-abortion, they typically aren't active about it.
    - dragonwriter 10y ago
      > You see this especially strongly in the Catholic community; abortion is almost universally condemned This actually isn't true; while abortion (both the act and its legality) are condemned in strong terms by the Catholic hierarchy, opinion polling has consistently shown the US Catholic community has roughly the same distribution of views on abortion and its legality as the general public.
      - JackFr 10y ago
        Splitting hairs, but when Quinnipiac broke out Catholics who were weekly communicants as opposed to merely 'identifying', there were significant differences.
        dragonwriter 10y ago
        > Splitting hairs, but when Quinnipiac broke out Catholics who were weekly communicants as opposed to merely 'identifying', there were significant differences. Further splitting hairs, what they actual broke down was weekly Mass attenders vs. others, not weekly communicants. Those aren't the same thing. But, yes, unsurprisingly, adherence to authority on the one point correlates with adherence to authority on the other.
whatshisface 10y ago
Children are an absolutely massive financial net-negative for all quality-of-life levels above the poverty line, and a few below. They will contribute to society far above their cost, but never pay back their parents. Maybe we should subsidize childcare more? Surely, that would better align parent's benefit with civilization's.
- greyman 10y ago
  > Children are an absolutely massive financial net-negative for all quality-of-life levels above the poverty line Not in my experience. My kid cost me money, but quality of life increased a lot since everything is now much more enjoyable. Also, kids do not pay back their parents with money, but they pay back much more with their love, and making life much more enjoyable for the parents.