A reminder of one of the steps that helped me cross the Rubicon

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Bookworm

My Dad, former Communist, eventual Reagan voter, had a particular pet peeve: the way in which the welfare system handed out money to women who got pregnant while on welfare. Since the women got more money for each child, even though it was questionable whether the child’s costs justified that money, he believed that there was an incentive for women to get pregnant. Further, in an age of birth control, even if the money paid was reasonable, he didn’t believe he ought to have to support a woman who couldn’t keep her eggs under control. I remember him saying, “I’ll pay for one, but why should I take money from my family to pay for more?”

My Dad was grumbling along these lines almost thirty years ago and, because his logic was impeccable, it stuck with me. As I moved from liberal to conservative, these words helped paved the way.

I was reminded of my Dad’s words when I read this story out of England, about a woman who is trying o get pregnant with her eighth taxpayer supported child (and who got pregnant with her first when she was only 15). The woman currently gets the equivalent of almost $38,000 from the government for her ever expanding brood. What’s especially interesting is the gal’s statement about her government benefits, which is exactly in line with my Dad’s thinking about the reasonable self-interest driving people who live perpetually on welfare: