Comments on: A Baby Tax in Australia?

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:48:34 +0000

Baby tax eh? honestly I can see why people shutter at the thought, its a little crude but I would rather see this than infanticide and abortions. Or like Ren said we could just share with needy…

For a nice discussion and insightful posts check out the issue we ran on this topic…
http://theissue.com/issue/5818.html
of Population growth, not specifically baby tax.
lemme know what you think!
Cheers,
Nick
The Issue

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:35:45 +0000

Oops, I meant:

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2007/12/tax-a-baby-save.html

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:17:22 +0000

For more coverage, see TaxProf Blog:

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/22255/24096094

By: Ren Garcia

Ren Garcia — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:16:01 +0000

On “kids as diamonds”
In the rural / agricultural Philippine countryside, farming families go for as many children as they can have. They are not thinking of the many mouths to feed, rather the more hands to farm the land.

By: PiperTax

PiperTax — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:53:48 +0000

I’m surprised how many people see a birth tax as so ridiculous. To be completely honest, I’d support one.

By: kevin

kevin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:01:28 +0000

I didn’t even hear about this but this whole situation is rather interesting. It would be interesting to see what would happen if it was even proposed around here.

By: Wayne Phillips

Wayne Phillips — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:14:32 +0000

Absurd to the point of being unmanagable as one responder pointer out, the economies of poverty nations would not nor does it, stop population growth. Yes we need to conserve and be vigorous caretakers of Planet Earth. What over classes of people would be considered. As my mother so boldly declares ” What have you done that benefits society?’. First check the hospitals for the weak and infirm? The mental institutions, and if that isn’t enough, the personal flies for medications that keeps some folks civil and out of the institutions? Or we could relinquish that decision to persons like the “Great Decider”? LOL
I offer what makes the wealthy the whole target? According to the majority of the world’s population, all Americans are wealthy. We all would be a potential target for solving what is a planet problem.

By: Michael Gowin

Michael Gowin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:30:59 +0000

Jonathan Swift’s 18th-century “proposal” (see http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html) may provide an economically better solution than a tax. Since the birth rate in low-income countries is as much as 3 to 5 times that in developed countries, the real population growth problem (so-called) lies in places where a birth penalty tax would do no good: you can’t collect taxes from people who have no money.

Instead, as Swift proposed, the poor could provide their children as a food resource to the wealthy. Swift’s argument was limited to solving the population problem of the poor in Ireland. Today’s modern transportation and food processing technologies, however, could enable a worldwide trade in child flesh. This would provide the poor with needed income while at the same time reducing the birth rate–everyone wins!

[Note: This is intended to be absurd, as was Jonathan Swift's original essay. The idea of a birth tax is similarly ridiculous and denies the unique value of each person.]

By: Baby Tax As Population Control? : Smoke Rings, Coffee Stains

Baby Tax As Population Control? : Smoke Rings, Coffee Stains — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:22:56 +0000

[...] a brilliant idea! Read all about it here. Bookmark [...]

By: Kelly

Kelly — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:46:56 +0000

But a tax wouldn’t force you to stop having children in theory, right?

And many religions also believe that taking care of the Earth is important.