4 ms·

Very sensible. While libertarian and anarcho-capitalist outfits like Reason and Freakonomics may have strange views (and sometimes held climate denial views), t

Very sensible. While libertarian and anarcho-capitalist outfits like Reason and Freakonomics may have strange views (and sometimes held climate denial views), they do also sometimes offer uncomfortable, factual truths. Unfortunately though, the US lacks a fair and equitable universal healthcare system and doesn't really care about imposing absurd externalities on individuals who lack health insurance or the means to side-step the narrowing separation between church and state. Birth control access isn't free or universal in the US. And, it would be unsurprising that a considerable fraction of lower-income women in physical relationships are less able to insist on using birth control at all times. It could also be that higher-income women worry more and have the means and assertiveness to make different choices. Perhaps the root cause is when kids are born, regardless of public policies or personal choices, that aren't wanted, aren't loved, and lack sensible parental role models, they end up in worse circumstances and have more problems in life.

toomuchtodo 3y ago
I used to volunteer as a guardian ad litem; you are an independent party who advocates for a child’s interests in family court (I had one during my parent’s divorce, and I wanted to pay it forward). Between that experience, and knowing that 40% of annual pregnancies both in the US and globally are unintended, you arrive at the conclusion that a lot of suffering is because of unwanted children existing through no fault of their own, and parents who are, quite frankly, either unequipped or willfully harmful and should’ve never been parents. So now, I strongly advocate for anyone who even has a hint of not wanting to have kids to seek permanent birth control (vasectomy or bisalp). Could you possibly regret not having kids? Sure, we all grieve the loss of optionality and possibility. But having kids you don’t want or can’t take care of is far more regretful imho, for everyone involved. > Perhaps the root cause is when kids are born, regardless of public policies or personal choices, that aren't wanted, aren't loved, and lack sensible parental role models, they end up in worse circumstances and have more problems in life. Nailed it.
- throwiforgtnlzy 3y ago
  > I used to volunteer as a guardian ad litem; you are an independent party who advocates for a child’s interests in family court (I had one during my parent’s divorce, and I wanted to pay it forward). Woah, nice. I wouldn't know where to start without going to law school first. I surmise the invention of cheap transportation combined with successive generations of mass communication like the internet demolished the central fixtures of local community and togetherness in the lives of most people. So not only do people move frequently, but they don't engage with people around them. This can't be healthy for individuals or families. Without the moderating and supportive forces local communities apply and provide on their members, people can gravitate towards hyper-individualism, odd beliefs, extremism, antisocial behaviors, isolation, and loneliness. As such, it becomes more difficult to socialize children properly, a society becomes paranoid with low trust, and it motives lashing out via crimes of desperation, despair, and malice. Healthy societies don't have rampant drug overdoses, mass shootings, droves of unhoused people, favelas, armored middle-class housing, $100M+ homes, or plunging net fertility rates overall.
  - toomuchtodo 3y ago
    Training is provided and a JD is not required. > As a volunteer, you are responsible for gathering facts surrounding a child’s case, reviewing reports, finding out the child’s wants and desires, visiting a child’s home, school, or placement, and providing the court with an unbiased recommendation on what is required to serve the child’s best interests. The volunteer assists in providing the judge with the information needed and what the child wants, so the judge can decide what is in the child’s best interests. https://guardianadlitem.org/volunteer-with-guardian-ad-litem/ https://guardianadlitem.org/volunteer-with-guardian-ad-litem...
    - throwiforgtnlzy 3y ago
      Woah, neat. (Florida, in this example.) I had no idea. I'll have to think about it in the future because I'm currently caring for elderly parents. Many thanks to opening my eyes to new ways to volunteer.
      - 2y ago
- pyuser583 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - throwiforgtnlzy 3y ago
    Some forms of reversible birth control exist, but not all of them are. Also, I don't think people who are torn between affording food and fuel can afford to thinking about, much less afford, permanent birth control. Might be worth mentioning my grandmother was intentionally, involuntarily sterilized by a US Navy surgeon in the late 1950's without informed consent during a "routine" hernia repair operation. I think it's a personal choice. I like kids so I'm on the side of more reproduction by people who can afford them and who would be good parents. The net fertility rate is cratering in most countries in the global north.
  - toomuchtodo 3y ago
    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39690871 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39690871 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702793 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702793
  - AlexeyBelov 2y ago
    Can you at least elaborate?

toomuchtodo 3y ago

I used to volunteer as a guardian ad litem; you are an independent party who advocates for a child’s interests in family court (I had one during my parent’s divorce, and I wanted to pay it forward). Between that experience, and knowing that 40% of annual pregnancies both in the US and globally are unintended, you arrive at the conclusion that a lot of suffering is because of unwanted children existing through no fault of their own, and parents who are, quite frankly, either unequipped or willfully harmful and should’ve never been parents. So now, I strongly advocate for anyone who even has a hint of not wanting to have kids to seek permanent birth control (vasectomy or bisalp). Could you possibly regret not having kids? Sure, we all grieve the loss of optionality and possibility. But having kids you don’t want or can’t take care of is far more regretful imho, for everyone involved. > Perhaps the root cause is when kids are born, regardless of public policies or personal choices, that aren't wanted, aren't loved, and lack sensible parental role models, they end up in worse circumstances and have more problems in life. Nailed it.

throwiforgtnlzy 3y ago
> I used to volunteer as a guardian ad litem; you are an independent party who advocates for a child’s interests in family court (I had one during my parent’s divorce, and I wanted to pay it forward). Woah, nice. I wouldn't know where to start without going to law school first. I surmise the invention of cheap transportation combined with successive generations of mass communication like the internet demolished the central fixtures of local community and togetherness in the lives of most people. So not only do people move frequently, but they don't engage with people around them. This can't be healthy for individuals or families. Without the moderating and supportive forces local communities apply and provide on their members, people can gravitate towards hyper-individualism, odd beliefs, extremism, antisocial behaviors, isolation, and loneliness. As such, it becomes more difficult to socialize children properly, a society becomes paranoid with low trust, and it motives lashing out via crimes of desperation, despair, and malice. Healthy societies don't have rampant drug overdoses, mass shootings, droves of unhoused people, favelas, armored middle-class housing, $100M+ homes, or plunging net fertility rates overall.
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  Training is provided and a JD is not required. > As a volunteer, you are responsible for gathering facts surrounding a child’s case, reviewing reports, finding out the child’s wants and desires, visiting a child’s home, school, or placement, and providing the court with an unbiased recommendation on what is required to serve the child’s best interests. The volunteer assists in providing the judge with the information needed and what the child wants, so the judge can decide what is in the child’s best interests. https://guardianadlitem.org/volunteer-with-guardian-ad-litem/ https://guardianadlitem.org/volunteer-with-guardian-ad-litem...
  - throwiforgtnlzy 3y ago
    Woah, neat. (Florida, in this example.) I had no idea. I'll have to think about it in the future because I'm currently caring for elderly parents. Many thanks to opening my eyes to new ways to volunteer.
    - 2y ago
pyuser583 3y ago
[flagged]
- throwiforgtnlzy 3y ago
  Some forms of reversible birth control exist, but not all of them are. Also, I don't think people who are torn between affording food and fuel can afford to thinking about, much less afford, permanent birth control. Might be worth mentioning my grandmother was intentionally, involuntarily sterilized by a US Navy surgeon in the late 1950's without informed consent during a "routine" hernia repair operation. I think it's a personal choice. I like kids so I'm on the side of more reproduction by people who can afford them and who would be good parents. The net fertility rate is cratering in most countries in the global north.
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39690871 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39690871 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702793 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39702793
- AlexeyBelov 2y ago
  Can you at least elaborate?