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Why are diapers so expensive?

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Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#131

Post by epicureanideal »

FuckOffNeemo wrote: post #102
cm2012 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, real talk. My time, according to society, is worth $300ish per hour. Hers is probably worth $10 an hour. I didn't do anything special to earn this and I'm a very lazy person. I would much rather have people like me pay more taxes and this lady not have to spend her whole day cleaning diapers.

You and I both. How many of us would have to chip in another $10-$20 in taxes to cover those without, so a parent and his/her children can take a shit and dispose of it in a way that meats their commitments as appropriate?

As others have said, it's not a question of "having diapers" vs "not having diapers". It's a question of convenience for the parents to not use another cheap alternative -- cloth diapers. Also, we already have many assistance programs and I would like to understand the specifics of a situation that leaves someone without enough money to buy even disposable diapers if they're already on assistance.

Further, where does it end?

"I want a good brand of disposable diapers, not the cheap ones" (Note: a lot of working families are buying those cheap diapers!)

"I want a $1000 stroller with an easy-collapse handle and nice tires so my kids don't get jostled as I take them over bumps in the park"

"I need a subsidy for a minivan because a small car is very inconvenient with kids"

"I need a subsidy for ORGANIC food, not just any food for my babies."

etc.

The standard could easily become more than the average US household income, without even trying hard to grow the list.

Remember, it's not about ability to have any diapers at all, they're arguing that they deserve a higher standard of convenience.

Meanwhile, I need to commute to work an obscene distance because NIMBYs won't allow more housing to be built, keeping me away from my children for many more hours than I would otherwise need to. But please, prioritize taxing me even more to pay for conveniences for people who are home with their kids while I work to feed mine.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#132

Post by lsc »

chrissnell wrote: post #54

This article is so frustrating. The helplessness and dependence are just sad. Cloth diapers cost less than $1.50 each in a 10-pack. If you are poor enough, you can wash them in a bucket with bar soap. That's what virtually everyone did before washers were invented. I'm saddened that this girl didn't figure this out. I know first-hand, when you're poor and desperate, you figure shit out. Unless, of course, you have a…

>I want to help them, but the answer isn't more subsidies. I want to see her get that better job, even if it means losing the assistance. I want to see Dad stay in the home because that's so critical for developing emotional control in young adults. I want their son to grow up scrappy and industrious, with a good sense of how to get by even things are tough because tough times happen for everyone.

What do you want to do to help them?

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#133

Post by mixmastamyk »

Hmm, not one commenter here in 120+ addressed the point of the article, namely why don't companies make cheaper diapers, instead of only ratcheting up the high tech? Obviously it's more profitable, but are there other factors?

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#134

Post by bkovacev »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #121
bkovacev wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment is completely contradictory. You say the OP's comment reeks of privilege/ignorance, but you go ahead and expect government privilege in $CURRENY_YEAR. The OP was commenting that certain people leech and do not want to find a job and help themselves, but rather want more help from the government. I grew up with cloth diapers not because my family was poor, but just simply because it was a better choice fo…

The OP was commenting that certain people leech and do not want to find a job and help themselves, but rather want more help from the government. I do not see how you got that from OP. Your sentence is very loaded. You are reading this with your own filters, it seems. What I got from OP is the government is not helping people become self reliant. Instead it is helping them financially, but also hurting them long term…

I don't blame this woman. I'm not pissed at her. I'm pissed, however, at the politicians who have created this dependency web to trap people like this woman and ensure that there will always be a need for do-gooder politicians.

unless, of course, you have a system that encourages dependence on public assistance and actually ends up hurting a woman's self-sufficiency and puts her little boy at a high risk of being helpless and dependent, too.

By having the government helping them more, they fail to become self-reliant, thus get used to leeching and are expecting from the government to help them. You have people purposely living on food stamps and government help, even though they're capable of finding work. If you're not aware of this you might want to check your filters as well.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#135

Post by Nition »

hashgowda wrote: post #67
Nition wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd also add: - If you'd really prefer modern style cloth diapers (prefold, pocket etc) instead of the cheap old-school flat diapers, often you can buy second-hand ones that are hardly used (or not used at all!). - If you have any more children, your cost for buying diapers is now $0 because you already have them.

Please post a link to the modern style diapers...

Sure.

These are prefolds, with outers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002LR8VC4

Prefolds are similar to the old flat nappies but they're thicker so you don't have to fold them so much. They work well but they're not as simple as the other options:

These are pocket: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SWIA5LQ

They have a pocket in them where the absorbent insert goes. Easier to use but usually not quite as absorbent as prefold.

Then there are other variations, e.g. Ones where the absorbent inner clips onto the outer ("snap-in"), or even simpler ones that are one outer and inner combined ("all-in-one").

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#136

Post by s4vi0r »

bkovacev wrote: post #109
s4vi0r wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jesus, your comment and the other replies just straight up reek of privilege/ignorance. What you're suggesting is obviously the pragmatic choice - obviously, if she's poor as shit and can't afford regular diapers, using reusable cloth ones is a great solution. But that's not the fucking point of the article - its $CURRENT_YEAR in the richest country in the world, this absolutely shouldn't be a thing that happens in t…

Your comment is completely contradictory. You say the OP's comment reeks of privilege/ignorance, but you go ahead and expect government privilege in $CURRENY_YEAR. The OP was commenting that certain people leech and do not want to find a job and help themselves, but rather want more help from the government. I grew up with cloth diapers not because my family was poor, but just simply because it was a better choice fo…

You don't even understand what privilege means, my dude. I expect my government to serve myself and the people, and not a handful of old dudes at the top of the food chain. If you think a government serving its people is a privilege, I think you have a very poor idea of what democracy is (or should be).

>...certain people leech, do not want to find a job...

This is privilege and propaganda at work right here. Being so far removed from what its like to be poor that you unironically believe some bullshit like "poor people just want government bux for free".

>I grew up with cloth... Not because my family was poor, but because other types weren't available... I don't see that cloth diapers are a poor-peoples choice.. Is it below some "level” you think should exist?

Absolutely - I expect that the poor in the richest country in the world aren't forced to regress to the standards of 50-60 years ago for their children. There's nothing wrong with cloth diapers or the fact that you were brought up with them. The issue is that people like you don't think its a problem that somebody in the USA in 2018 has to get cloth diapers not because they want to, or their baby's skin handles it better or whatever, but because they literally cannot afford not to.

What the fuck is with this race to the bottom? Yes, I absolutely expect there to be certain standards of living in different countries that are upheld by society and government. How am I the crazy one here? I don't want to live in a fucking country where I'm making 6 figures, comfortable in my air conditioned home while down the street somebody has to shit on the street because public toilets were abolished because muh taxation is theft or something.

There's nothing shameful about being poor or different countries having different standards of living - there is something shameful about a society which looks at somebody struggling and instead of lending a hand tells them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#137

Post by hennsen »

drstewart wrote: post #93
s4vi0r wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jesus, your comment and the other replies just straight up reek of privilege/ignorance. What you're suggesting is obviously the pragmatic choice - obviously, if she's poor as shit and can't afford regular diapers, using reusable cloth ones is a great solution. But that's not the fucking point of the article - its $CURRENT_YEAR in the richest country in the world, this absolutely shouldn't be a thing that happens in t…

They also wouldn't have imagined that not making everything disposable and plastic would be a bad idea and yet here we are. Not everything is better because it happened in the past. God forbid you have to be a little bit more mindful of wanton consumption than people were in $CURRENT_YEAR - 50. Calling a country third world because you can't throw away tons of disposable diapers... now that's a low standard, or just…

You are right about consumption and throwaway society issues. At the same time, i dont believe the reason people can’t afford diapers is that they are expensive to protect the environment... plus creating lots of trash shouldn’t be a privilege for some - it should be prohibited for all.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#138

Post by King-Aaron »

tytytytytytytyt wrote: post #65
chrissnell wrote: post #54

This article is so frustrating. The helplessness and dependence are just sad. Cloth diapers cost less than $1.50 each in a 10-pack. If you are poor enough, you can wash them in a bucket with bar soap. That's what virtually everyone did before washers were invented. I'm saddened that this girl didn't figure this out. I know first-hand, when you're poor and desperate, you figure shit out. Unless, of course, you have a…

> They are difficult to clean without a washing machine at home Am I the only one who thinks I could manage to clean some cloth diapers in a bucket or tub fairly easily?

You, and probably several million (if not a billion or so) other human beings who have managed to do it well enough before nylon diapers came onto the scene...

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#139

Post by rokhayakebe »

rubicon33 wrote: post #47
djrogers wrote: post #28

There are a couple of ‘facts’ listed here that don’t line up with my current reality and very recent knowledge (3 kids, most recent is 18mo). First off, 12 changes a day is a huge outlier - even for a newborn. 8 would be a more reasonable number, and it drops down to the 4-6 range in the first year, and by now we’re at 3 if we don’t go swimming. Second item that sounds waaay off is $1000/yr for diapers. Again, that h…

Why would people bring a child into the world if they can't even afford diapers, will always blow my mind.

Some things/ideas/comments are best kept in our thoughts. Your comment qualifies; I mean it as a feedback.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#140

Post by hennsen »

cm2012 wrote: post #90
chrissnell wrote: post #54

This article is so frustrating. The helplessness and dependence are just sad. Cloth diapers cost less than $1.50 each in a 10-pack. If you are poor enough, you can wash them in a bucket with bar soap. That's what virtually everyone did before washers were invented. I'm saddened that this girl didn't figure this out. I know first-hand, when you're poor and desperate, you figure shit out. Unless, of course, you have a…

Okay, real talk. My time, according to society, is worth $300ish per hour. Hers is probably worth $10 an hour. I didn't do anything special to earn this and I'm a very lazy person. I would much rather have people like me pay more taxes and this lady not have to spend her whole day cleaning diapers.

Just because somebody pays you 300 you are not necessarily worth it. And just because someone else doesn’t have the luck to be able to access such a job she’s not automatically worth only a 1/30 of you.

The question is not what someone pays you but what worth do you really bring to the society that also feeds and supports you.

So while doing your wellpaid job, you probably pay only 5 or 10 an hour to the persons cleaning your toilet so you can do your „human business“ in a conveniently clean place. Don’t you think this person is responsible for a big and relevant part of your life quality?

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