291–300 of 432 posts
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Where does the social support come from if everyone is working?
People who work in social support? Look at east vs west Germany. West Germany struggled with demand for social and child services during the pandemic, but the East never dismantled theirs, and it showed. Care and support are jobs.
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Why should people who are young and healthy support people on social security? Why should adults not just turn children loose in the streets? They're not doing anything useful. Why should the insurance premiums of healthy people pay for those who have cancer? Because we live in a society, there is a social contract, and we are not evolved to be solitary animals, that's why. There are a myriad of ways that we scratch…
Obviously if something is a good idea, then that's the evidence we need to force others to fund it at gunpoint of the tax man.
At any rate, the amount of profit a capitalist business owner skims off their employees labor is much greater than the amount those workers pay in taxes. The idea that the business owner should be allowed to benefit from the labor and effort of an educated, healthy workforce and a functioning infrastructure and financial system while giving nothing in return is not even worth discussing.
It sounds to me like you're just upset that you don't get to be a freeloader. You owe society for what it gives you.
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We breastfed our daughter. Her mother pumped to cover times when she was working, and I fed our daughter. The only time this was an issue was when her mother left for a week-long conference. Accumulating supply for that period (and her dealing with the unused supply while away) was mildly challenging but we managed just fine. I then went on to quit work and stayed home to raise our daughter (she's now nearing 28 year…
We could go even further: You don't need the mother at all; you can always just raise the baby on formula. But that doesn't change that the mother-child bond is a unique and special thing, and that there are real benefits to breast-feeding, straight from the breast. And beyond, the simple fact is that many women really want to be with their babies. It's misguided to pretend that there aren't biological realities unde…
Dad, when he actually spends time with kid is exactly the same bond. Really. I have seen that. There is nothing magical about mother-child bond. It is something that was unique in social setting where men are penalized for spending too much time with their kids. Or where men are expected to be disciplinarian after spending all the day outside of house. Or where dads were killed in a war.
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Yeah I'm floored by these takes. God forbid society rewards child rearing with decent parental leave and accepting small resume gaps. Can't even consider things like government or job sponsored child-care or benefits to make things like breastfeeding easier while working. Changing to part-time for a period of time with a newborn, etc. The possibilities are endless to make having a child easier for both mothers and fa…
Except for surrogates and wet nurses, you cannot delegate pregnancy and breast feeding. You can make things more equal between men and women. But some unescapable biological realities still exist. > Why not something like a GI-bills structure to reward having children? Blows my damn mind people think sacrifice is a necessary part of having a child from society's point of view. Sounds something that Mitt Romney and mo…
It is insignificant. What does matter waaay more are years and years after pregnancy and breastfeeding. How the care is split during those years, how much the parent going to pick up kids is penalized in the workplace.
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If you're breastfeeding, it's gotta be the woman. And ideally, you are breastfeeding. Beyond that, most women strongly want to be with their babies. There was a NYT article a few years back about the boom of internet baby monitors, and it was kind of heartbreaking -- a bunch of women sitting at their desks glued to their baby monitors wishing they could be with their babies. I think we've really fucked up as a societ…
Exclusive breastfeeding is for 6 months maximum. That is all there is to it. Any older then that, baby eats solids. Also, the stay at home moms are at risk demographic for alcoholism and mental heath issues like depression - cause the situation causes it.
Is this true in all societies, or just societies like USA where most people live in car-centric suburbs isolated from any sense of community?
In Africa there are women who go back to work selling things in the town market shortly after their babies are born - with the baby strapped to their back and breast fed on demand. No need for daycare but mom can still work!
It's election season and I've been out talking to voters, who share their life stories... what I would say is that there are many women who are choosing WFH because they either can't afford or can't find day care, which may lead to deciding that hey, they might as well have another baby if they are now committed to this employment model. I've spoken to several women who were over-qualified for the jobs they had taken…
> women have stepped up for their families often to the detriment of their own careers Forcing 2 household incomes was/is awful for a healthy society. Women are the only humans that can produce children and they have to do it during a relatively short time window - especially if we want to reproduce at replacement level. Raising children should be regarded as one of the most important things a woman can do because th…
Oh shove off. My dad by himself for years absolutely raised us without my biological mother in the picture at all. Men can and should be raising children too.
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In civilised societies, women still give birth, but after they are born both parents are given the possibility to stay at home with their child. This usually takes the form of the birth-giving woman staying at home for the first few months, while the child is dependent on frequent breastfeeding, after which the other parent stays at home with the child for a few months until they are ready to to start kindergarten ar…
It's quite odd that these "civilized societies" then have to rely on importing the best and brightest young people from "uncivilized" societies to keep their "civilized society" from suffering a demographic collapse. Almost makes one think that they're not quite civilized, they just put economics above all and rely on exploiting other nations to prop the whole thing up.
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>"why you want a career?" Financial independence. Anyone who thinks SAH parents can free themselves of this worry is naive. You never get the time back, you never get the experience back, you never get the training or the raises or the bonuses. You never get the retirement savings. If you are unfortunate enough to live in the US you are entirely dependent on your spouse for healthcare. It's an unfathomably vulnerable…
> A SAH spouse is not an equal partner with a 50% contribution. More of an oldest child with extra responsibilities and a higher allowance. This is a really depressing way of looking at things.
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In civilised societies, women still give birth, but after they are born both parents are given the possibility to stay at home with their child. This usually takes the form of the birth-giving woman staying at home for the first few months, while the child is dependent on frequent breastfeeding, after which the other parent stays at home with the child for a few months until they are ready to to start kindergarten ar…
It's quite odd that these "civilized societies" then have to rely on importing the best and brightest young people from "uncivilized" societies to keep their "civilized society" from suffering a demographic collapse. Almost makes one think that they're not quite civilized, they just put economics above all and rely on exploiting other nations to prop the whole thing up.
We're supposed to be entering an age of automation. But now that the yoke of labor may be lifted from our shoulders finally, all anybody can talk about is "Full Employment".
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It's been amazing to me that developed countries have bemoaned birth rates... and then done nothing effective about it. You know what says "This country values parents who choose to have children?" Actual replacement of lost income potential and career progression. Yes, in the US there are tax credits, SNAP, etc. None of these even come close to replacing the life income changes. If we were serious about it, we'd hav…
> Yes, in the US there are tax credits, SNAP, etc. None of these even come close to replacing the life income changes. Our three kids are gonna cost us at least half a million dollars by the time they're all 18, between lost income, daycare costs, higher housing costs (not just a bigger house to maintain a similar comfort level, but also one in a much more expensive area than we might otherwise live in, since we have…
Or if you're very poor, then the more kids you have, the more you receive in benefits. Many poor people manage to have more kids than middle class people.
The middle class parent thinks "if I have another kid how will I pay for their college?" The poor parent just sends their kids to community college or if they're amazingly brilliant and get into Harvard, then they'll get a free full ride because they're poor.