On A Claire Day by Carla Ventresca and Henry Beckett for February 18, 2010

  1. Hildigunnur a  vox
    hildigunnurr Premium Member about 15 years ago

    No need for hundreds of dollars to start up - easy to get second-hand stuff. Itā€™s when the kids grow up that it becomes expensive. Worth it, though.

    HectorPriam - well your tax dollars pay off when you get old and need a younger generation to keep up the nation so you can enjoy your otium - get food to eat and suchā€¦

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    arsmall  about 15 years ago

    ā€¦so true Paulā€¦its funny, animals know when to stop having offspring, but we humansā€¦wellā€¦

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    vldazzle  about 15 years ago

    Yes yā€™all, I finally got my X to allow me to (ā€¦ ) stop having children after we had 4. and Joe - the book title was probably derived from a line in the old song from the twenties ā€œAinā€™t We Got Funā€ it went ā€œā€¦the rich get richer and the poor get childrenā€;-)

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    Smiley Rmom  about 15 years ago

    We only have two children, but I have friends with large families. I have nothing against large families IF the parents, and not the taxpayers support them. Especially if the parents are training their children to be self-sufficient, upstanding adults. (Which happens to be the case in the large families I know personally). I do have a problem with people having kids outside of wedlock, expect the government to support and raise the kids, and then what is primarily accomplished is to increase the welfare rolls and prison populations.

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    N.D.Pendent  about 15 years ago

    Hell, I canā€™t afford any more children, of course that wonā€™t stop those on welfare from having them

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    grim509  about 15 years ago

    Thatā€™s what I donā€™t get. I have 5 children and have never recieved or even applied for taxpayer aide. If you canā€™t afford it, donā€™t do it!

    The sad thing is, the amount of aide weā€™d qualify for if we wanted it. Free school lunchesā€¦ give me a break. How hard is it to make a sandwich and toss in an apple for your kid? Itā€™s not about who needs it, itā€™s about whoā€™s too lazy to work for anything.

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    forgiveness  about 15 years ago

    isnā€™t that the truth.

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    PhyllisFinchley  about 15 years ago

    The cost isnā€™t so much in money paid out. Itā€™s in time, sleep, and in lost wages, promotions, and retirement benefits for whoever cares for the baby. e.g., the lyrics to a song by Mary Chapin Carpenter, ā€œFor fifteen years she had a job and not one raise in pay/ Now sheā€™s in the typing pool at minimum wage.ā€ That song used to send me back to my professional studies vowing, ā€œNot me! Iā€™ve met too many women in my own family who were miserable in that very scenarioā€“at the least, I should be able to find some newly charted, progressive, and creative version of misery!ā€ā€

    ā€œThe powers that beā€ let us think we have made ā€œchoicesā€ about our lives and opportunities, but thatā€™s not really true, except for the ā€œchoiceā€ to try to survive financially.

    Somebody has to earn the money, and somebody has to care for the kids. Weā€™d probably all be better off if we were flexible about who does what, gave massive tax breaks and benefits to stay-at-home parents, and respected stay-at-home Dads.

    (My own dad, a musician, was one for a whileā€“thatā€™s probably why I turned out to be such a smartnoseā€¦. ā€œOK Daddy, Iā€™ll sit through ONE chapter on DNA in exchange for TWO chapters of ā€˜The Witch of Blackbird Pondā€™ā€¦ā€)

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    culprit Premium Member about 15 years ago

    Thank heavens for little books! And children no matter who has them. As long as someone cares ! (for/with them)

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