Children Are Assets

I heard it again just the other day at my athletic club. "I’l tell yah, they should tax people extra, not give a tax credit, for each kid they have. This state has the highest birth rate and I have to pay for all your damn kids and their educations in my taxes, and I’m sick of it," finished the crusty old geezer before heading for his $80,000 Beamer.

He left too quickly for me to tell him that I’m sick of paying taxes to pay for his social security, Medicare, Medicaid, boat ramps, recreational areas, and rest home stays. Nor was I able to inform him that I’m tired of paying the interest on the national debt that his generation created. Lastly, I would have liked to have told him that perhaps we shouldn’t give parents tax breaks nor old men pensions. To the contrary, we should do as some of the ancient European clans and Indian tribes did and give our old men a blanket, one last morsel of food and cast them adrift on the swiftest ice flow or leave them alone in the middle of some desert wilderness.

It’s a good thing that I didn’t, because it’s not really what I believe but I do resent the ingratitude of a few of the childless, the rich and the"Modern Maturity"" set. We have forgotten that our children are our heritage. We have forgotten our sense of community. As an example, the rage in the law at this time is estate planning meant to secure government"entitlements"" and hide assets so that every aging adult can enjoy both their summer Maui Condo and also their winter Medicare-Funded Care Center stay (usually costing the American tax payer about $350,000 a year per patient). And who pays and will pay for our aging population’s social security, Medicare, Medicaid and the interest on the National debt? Our working youth.

Knowing this, I don’t begrudge the small break we grant American parents, I thank them. My only regret is that statistics show that the most affluent, intelligent, wealthy and educated of our society often opt for few if any children. Such people, who often forego raising children to contribute to population control, do not realize that the economy, the environment and the nation would be better off with four children in their homes instead of the motor home, boat, snowmobiles, sports car, RVs and riding lawn mowers they now have parked in their warehouse-sized garages.

So the next time you geezers out there cash your next social security check, don’t relish it as the fruit of your lifelong labor, because it’s not. Instead, thank the current American working class and pray that our tax practices will encourage the birth, development and education of our children. Otherwise you may find yourself alone and adrift on a fast moving ice flow with only a blanket and one last morsel of food.

Loren M. Lambert, 2000