But what about the children?

The elections this year, and I guess really every year, makes me really question a lot of the notions folks have about their individual rights, taxes, and how those both inter-relate. With such a strong focus/fear of “giving” away services such as health care it really makes we wonder about how often people never question the privileges they already receive from the government. I’m not thinking of those who are in the top 1%. I am more concerned about those who are willing to cut spending for social services, health care, and parks, but forget that they assume certain benefits. Mainly I guess it’s having kids.

As a taxpayer who is a homeowner in Oregon most of my property taxes go to education and other needs of children. I don’t mind this. I wouldn’t mind higher taxes and I always vote to up my taxes when given a chance because that usually means more services in general to at least someone. What I have trouble with is how citizens forget that they are imposing their choice onto other citizens when they have children. This I don’t really mind either, where my problem lies is where these folks that have kids want to cut funding for other services forgetting that they receive a great deal from the state in education and health services. For some reason it is ok for them to impose their choice onto me for their supposed right to have children, but when I’m concerned about universal health care it becomes an issue of demonized socialism. What they forget is that they are very reliant on socialist values including state funded schools, libraries, and parks.

Maybe kids should be on a lottery system if they are not adopted. Maybe this imposition of privilege wouldn’t be so ignorantly embraced. I can’t stand when I hear parents, especially those with decent jobs, complain about higher taxes and they won’t be able to put money away for their kids’ college fund or get the luxuries they’ve grown accustom. Mainly because they completely forget that they are forcing me as a tax payer to fork up the bill for their kids k-12 and also college education in the form of government loans and grants and even more so if it is a state school. Again A choice that they made and now make taxpayers fund. Having kids is such an embedded part of our culture that we never question the expense. What I would like is for those that decide to have kids to not forget how much they receive from the state as far as tax credits, education expenses, and various services.

I know schools have been severely de-funded and that sucks, but so has everything else and frankly I like funding the other things a bit more. Having a kid isn’t a gift to society it is a burden that the rest of us willingly pick up, but just remember that there are other gifts to society, the existing population that also need help. Yeah the mentally ill, disabled, poor, and elderly may not be as cute and as endearing as a young one, but it doesn’t mean we owe them any less than what we give to the adorable little ones.