4 ms·

One of these classes is wildly better equipped to care for an animal.

ConceptJunkie 8y ago
With that logic, we should just ban poor people from breeding as well. After all, they are not as well equipped to do it.
- tbirrell 8y ago
  Actually that not true. You are reducing my logic to an absurd level. A static price is not a prevention, but a disincentivization. Enabling people to do something they are otherwise economically incapable of doing is how we got the 2008 recession. Granted this is a whole different level, but the point is the same. A functioning economy reflects the value, not the means. And as a result, some are less able than others. A price point that makes it difficult for someone to afford a pet will (presumably) make them think twice before taking on a responsibility they might not be able to handle.
- ams6110 8y ago
  Banning is a strong word, but we should definitely discourage it. Poor unmarried people shitting out kids that the rest of us have to pay for is not something I am a big fan of.
  - coldtea 8y ago
    Someone well off with those ideas forgets that he's here only because untold numbers of "poor people" had children up to his lineage -- even when they faced much worse odds than poverty... If what somebody learnt from life is that "they have to pay for poor people's kids", then indeed some are better for all of us to not have been born in the first place. But those are not necessarily the poor people's kids.
coldtea 8y ago
I seriously doubt that a person with $70K/year income is less "equipped to care for an animal" than a person with $10M/year income in any meaningful way.
- ams6110 8y ago
  You'd be surprised. Vet bills can be unexpectedly expensive and a sick or injured pet can run up a thousand dollar vet bill pretty quick. A family with a $70K income and a couple of kids could find that pretty difficult to accomodate into the budget.
pvaldes 8y ago
We could find terrible dog owners everywhere. Dogs are social animals and their psychological wellbeing and health is related with spending as many time as possible with their family group. Rich people have busy lifes and lack of free time to walk or play with the dog. They can overfeed they animals also to compensate.

With that logic, we should just ban poor people from breeding as well. After all, they are not as well equipped to do it.

tbirrell 8y ago
Actually that not true. You are reducing my logic to an absurd level. A static price is not a prevention, but a disincentivization. Enabling people to do something they are otherwise economically incapable of doing is how we got the 2008 recession. Granted this is a whole different level, but the point is the same. A functioning economy reflects the value, not the means. And as a result, some are less able than others. A price point that makes it difficult for someone to afford a pet will (presumably) make them think twice before taking on a responsibility they might not be able to handle.
ams6110 8y ago
Banning is a strong word, but we should definitely discourage it. Poor unmarried people shitting out kids that the rest of us have to pay for is not something I am a big fan of.
- coldtea 8y ago
  Someone well off with those ideas forgets that he's here only because untold numbers of "poor people" had children up to his lineage -- even when they faced much worse odds than poverty... If what somebody learnt from life is that "they have to pay for poor people's kids", then indeed some are better for all of us to not have been born in the first place. But those are not necessarily the poor people's kids.

coldtea 8y ago

I seriously doubt that a person with $70K/year income is less "equipped to care for an animal" than a person with $10M/year income in any meaningful way.

ams6110 8y ago
You'd be surprised. Vet bills can be unexpectedly expensive and a sick or injured pet can run up a thousand dollar vet bill pretty quick. A family with a $70K income and a couple of kids could find that pretty difficult to accomodate into the budget.

pvaldes 8y ago

We could find terrible dog owners everywhere. Dogs are social animals and their psychological wellbeing and health is related with spending as many time as possible with their family group. Rich people have busy lifes and lack of free time to walk or play with the dog. They can overfeed they animals also to compensate.