Maybe this would not be an issue if those with the "oops, I'm pregnant, oh well" mentality literally had to pay for their decisions, or lack thereof. How about giving a tax break to those of us who choose to not reproduce? It would solve a host of problems, from crime to the depletion of natural resources. And please don't worry about us "dying off". You know there are people who still won't have a clue, and end up with a host of offspring nonetheless.

Speaking of taxes, here is what is says, word-for-word, on my "stimulus payment" mailing from the IRS:

Additional Stimulus Payment for Children: Individuals eligible for payments may also receive an additional $300 for each qualifying child for the child tax credit.

Yep, makes even me think about getting pregnant.

Wow! You think $300 is alot of money and would consider getting pregnant for that HUGE tax return?? I'm amazed by your astute and obviously well researched observations that crime and depletion of natural resources are the product of human beings inhabiting the earth...I love your solution to said problems, let's stop procreating!!! Genious! Unfortunately, this solution fails to stop idiots like you from consuming, berating fellow humans, and precipitating hatred based out of irrational, ignorant, and unesecary judgement. Maybe we can bread people like you out...that would be more of an incentive for me to get knocked-up! Hey, the IRS can even keep the $300...like it would do much to support a child for 18+ years anyways!!! Too bad certain people, without naming names (ehem!), didn't have parents with this same thought process! Perhaps if they did, we would have all been spared enduring such an arrogant presence in our society. Oh well, at least there's hope for the future, as I assume you will not be having children!

Exactly! I don't see why my wife and I have to pay over 25% of our income so that other people can pop out these kids. We pay thousands of dollars per year in taxes, so that parents pay just a couple hundred throughout the year, and then get thousands of dollars back on their tax refunds. That makes no sense to me. If they want to have them, they can go ahead and pay for them.

I want to wish you the best of luck in making that $300 stretch for an entire year to cover the costs of a child. Diapers alone will cost about $10 a week. Take that times 52 weeks and looks you come out $220 short for just diapers. That's not even including the cost of food and their clothing, which they outgrow every 6 months, insurance, toys, the list goes on. Having a child does not make you better off financially. They are very expensive. But you make up for that by not going out with friends as much, because it just doesn't work out as well when you have a baby.

And that tax break doesn't just go to single moms, it goes to all families.

Hahahaha! To the guy above: do you really think 25% of your tax money goes to other people's children directly? Interesting thought...I'm pretty sure that everyone with an income pays taxes, as well as we all pay tax on products and services, so even people with children contribute. Your money goes to many places...military, law-enforcement, prisons, the elderly, the sick and dying, the community programs that you or someone you know enjoys, pollution controls, maintanence of the air and the earth, ect! Do you honestly think that if people stopped having children (unless they are well-off or are wealthy brainless celebrities who don't need your $$$ but you will pay in the end by having a world full of useless rich children with a serious sense of entitlement) you will not be paying the same percentage of tax??? You're crazy! The money will still be taken, it will just go somewhere else. Do you people ever recall a time in your lives when you or your parents or friends or neighbors were in a time of need financially? Well, that is the way life is...it doesn't make people bad or irresponsible that they can use a little extra help for their families. People without children have the ability to work more and treat themselves to better things in many cases. I believe that people with children should get some extra help when needed because many times one parent is unable to work full-time and take care of children, so they are at a handicap. You are the same people who cry that the world has gone to shit because parents don't spend enough time teaching and loving their kids, but when someone try's to do that very thing which leads to less income in the family, you all cry that they are sucking off the system and you are personally offended that they don't get off their butts and work if they need money...catch-22 no? Well, this is why I say that it doesn't matter what kind of judgemental opinions people have, they change like the wind to support whatever fleeting issue serves their interests best in the moment...very self-serving, narcisitic, and hipocritical, if you ask me.

We're not talking about a population problem. We're talking about an out-of-wedlock birth problem, which equals unfair disadvantages for these children. So if the law is going to get involved in that way, let's make the tax break only applicable to married couples. There's a reason you get a tax break for having children- it's not exactly a piece of cake, financially or otherwise, to raise them. Let's not cut it off for all reproducers- you make it sound like children are the problem, period.

Your an Idiot, you pay taxes for schools because YOU probably used them at one time. Are you that full of yourself that you think you can take but not give. Lets petition the government to not force us to send our kids to school until they are 16 and then we will pay a lot less in taxes and we will have a whole generation of kids who will serve us Burger King and and McDonalds until we die.

Hmmmm if they are all making $8/hr our Social Security checks, and Medicare is going to really suck by then. And since there will be no one to keep investing into that 401k package your company has set up you will only get a return of your original principal amount. (look it up if you don't understand). And I really hope you don't expect those Social Services to be around by the time you retire, if you do I hope you make the same career move that Kurt Cobain made.

"So if the law is going to get involved in that way, let's make the tax break only applicable to married couples."

Not every single parent is one by choice.

The problem is not about someone needing help from the government in an emergency as another poster pointed out. In america today VERY FEW PEOPLE CAN RAISE AND PROVIDE FOR CHILDREN ON ONE INCOME. Yes I know that there are exceptions but they are few and far between. The majority of these parents DO NOT have advanced degrees or the ability to obtain a high paying job. Therefore, the single parent has no choice but to get section 8 and all the other taxpayer supported aide programs. The taxpayers end up footing the bill for the missing father. One of the worst things about this whole situation is that no one will address the problem out of fear of appearing heartless, picking on a womans right to bear children, or being a racist. As long as people know that the government will step right up and cover a portion of their income with a smile all the while making sure that they are not "stigmatized" for living off of the taxpayer this will not change.

I did use the schools. What I didn't use was a bunch of handouts from the government, because my parents were/are married, and were able to rely on each other instead of relying on Uncle Sam. By handouts I mean food stamps/EBT cards, and the Earned Income Credit. I realize that I personally had nothing to do with how my parents did things, but I am still happy to have grown up that way, and I want the same for others. I shouldn't be a lucky person because I had both of my parents. I think that should just be normal.

Yes, I can appreciate people needing a helping hand at times, but I think rewarding people again and again for having children out of wedlock isn't needed. Yes, I know there are other things that my tax dollars go towards (Iraq, urgg), but this particular issue has serious ramifications, as there is more than just the "upfront" costs of the child. You have to consider how much that child might cost eventually because he/she didn't have two caring parents in their life to guide them along the right path, a path of self sufficiency.

As for the social services you mentioned, I am certain that those aren't going to be there not too far long into the future, so I don't count on them.

Oh Kari. What a complete load of BS. Of course every high school drop out kicking out 6 kids is going to "need a litte help". If fact, they are going to need a whole bunch of help, FOREVER, because because they are complete idiots. You completely miss the whole point of his coments. People should not be rewarded for doing iresponsible things that they can't mentally and financialy handle. If you are already poor how is bringing another kid into your miserable world going to be helpful to anyone. The kid will end up being a loser just like you, and once again society will end up paying for it. If everyone is honest about it i think we could all agree that only the stupid are breeding in heavy numbers, because the rest of us are smart enough to know we can't afford to support more children in a reasonable manner.

Hey Cutie...he didn't aim his mallace at the poor, ignorant woman with 6 kids...he was talking about ANY UNMARRIED WOMAN WITH CHILDREN...when I suggest that people with children (married or otherwise) may need a little assistance, I refer to the many, many families out there living in the lower middle class...some in pairs (married or not) others single, either way with children which is a significant financial burden. There are very few places left in this country to find affordable living and decent jobs with reliable child care facilities and a reasonable lifestyle. To the single parent, this is a significant stress and problem, for the dual income family it is as well...when two college grads (grad school and all) cannot find work in their home-state and must move to desolate and strange lands to make 70 thousand dollars a year and afford to pay back those many school loans as well as one parent must forfeit their job to take the job of care-giver to the children, money is an issue, and one that alters lives. So don't assume anything about what people mean. You heard, or pictured, poor uneducated (likely ethnic) people of some sort shooting up heroin and trading in food stamps for cigarettes...having children to get that $300 buck extra a year just to screw you over...well I think that people who post nasty things about "bastard children" and "out of wed-lock" babies being a catastrophy to the nation and morality are plain sick, close-minded and probably going to hell, if there is one, for behaving as though they can condemn, mistreat, judge ect, all the other people out there who are just trying to do the best they can. Obviously there are bad seeds in any group, but in this group...the people taking such black and white stands against others, they are the real bad seeds...they lack empathy and a real helpful minded attitude necessary to love others and find productive solutions to complex issues...you are likey one of these bad people.

P.S. So all of you support abortion, right? I doubt it you hipocritical asses! Sometimes pregnancy is a result of failing contraception...sometimes rape, sometimes men leave their wives or cheat, less often the other way as well...hmmm, well I guess all who judge those situations must have very successfull marriages, and only one, as well very productive children and all people you associate with fall into the same category. Or do you think so lowly of your friends and family in shitty situations? I'll bet you can make excuses for yours and others you care about situation...STOP JUDGING!

scarlet7:

"So if the law is going to get involved in that way, let's make the tax break only applicable to married couples."

Not every single parent is one by choice.

Indeed. My mom was such a harlot, raising my brother and me by herself with no skills, no income, and...oh, that's right, my father died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and left behind two sons age 9 and 7. To take away the tax advantages on that account would've added insult to injury (and put my family out of a home.)

It must be nice to have never been in the situation...or know anything about it. I am a single mother who hit very hard times (the economy's not in that great of shape, in case you lived in a cave the past few years) and the government WOULD NOT help me. I have worked since I was 17, and although I don't yet have my degree (in nursing) I am an intellectual person with a great deal of potential. The one time I needed help for a short period of time, merely to survive long enough to get back on my feet, I couldn't get it. For everyone who wants to complain about everybody getting support from the government, why don't you try and apply for it some time. Good luck to you. The only thing you can complain about (and I do too) is the people that lie about their situation and get away with it, that's what you need to be worried about. When someone is trying to better themselves you should help, because in the end, it's going to help everyone.