5 ms·
Seems fairly obvious; one child per family/couple will result in the population decreasing over time (it's not even enough for replacement). Added to the cited
by sorbus 17y ago
Seems fairly obvious; one child per family/couple will result in the population decreasing over time (it's not even enough for replacement). Added to the cited 119 to 100 ratio of male to female children, it's a pretty major issue.
Not to say that decreasing populations are a bad thing, of course.
- patio11 17y agoDecreasing populations are a bad thing if your social insurance program is a Ponzi scheme. Most are.
- mynameishere 17y agoAll are, even the traditional family is a "Ponzi Scheme" in that new investors (babies) pass money up to old investors (the elderly). Unlike most Ponzi schemes, however, the old investors are seeking modest gains, and for a very limited time. The problem is when the pyramid goes upside down (4 grandparents, 2 parents, 1 child). In that case, policy doesn't enter into the equation. You're effed no matter what.
- ojbyrne 17y agoI don't know what kind of family you live in, but in mine the flow of money has passed in the opposite direction for generations.
- mynameishere 17y agoThat's mainly true because we (now-a-days) treat anyone under 24 as an invalid, needing constant subsidization. In reality, the only people who need welfare are: actual cripples, young children, and the elderly. Cutting off the gravy train to young adults would have zero systematic effect.
- aaronblohowiak 17y agoI think you may have misinterpreted the point the parent was making -- some of us have families where the elderly leave wealth to the next generation when they pass on.
- mattm 17y agoExcept this is China. In general, the elderly do not have money. There is also a strong cultural ingrained into youth that it is their responsibility to support their parents and grandparents when they start earning money.
- jhancock 17y agonah, not a problem, if you only have 4 grandparents, 2 parents, 1 child, you simply have to put more pressure on the 1 child to get into Harvard. Problem solved ;)
- foldr 17y agoThe SSA has a rather nice refutation of the claim that there's any real analogy between Ponzi schemes and Social Security: http://web.archive.org/web/20041001-20051231re_/http://www.ssa.gov/history/ponzi.html http://web.archive.org/web/20041001-20051231re_/http://www.s...