Celebs Weigh In On Family Size
Everyone knows what the policy is in China when it comes to having children. It’s tough to judge them too harshly I guess, as they have to find some means of controlling their population. I sometimes wonder though just how far the Chinese government is willing to take it. With the world population continuing to grow, many people speculate that we are on our way to not being able to sustain it. I’m not too big on Doomsday theories myself, but is it possible that other nations may soon impose stricter laws restricting people’s reproductive rights?
Take for example, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar who already have 17 children, with another baby due in January of 2009. With Michelle just 42, there is the real possibility that the Duggars are not done having babies quite yet.
Recently a few celebrities weighed in on the discussion of family size. See who shares your opinion on whether or not a family can be too big.
The View co-host, Whoopi Goldberg feels that nobody has the right to judge. She says, ‘I think it’s to each their own and none of our business. If people want to have 30 kids and can afford it, it’s none of our business. Some people are very wealthy, only have one child and that’s too much for them. Some people have 18 children and they have it together?’
According to The Grand Dame of Dish, Liz Smith, ‘Doesn’t the number of children a family chooses to have fall under the “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” clause? Isn’t it a private matter, so long as a family can cope, care for and control in a healthy manner?’
Actress Lily Tomlin put it this way, ‘I’ve seen it written in information about overpopulation that “People are a good thing. Overpopulation isn’t.’
While it is in fact a private issue, maybe it’s not such a bad idea to view it in the context of the health care system, and programs like welfare. If a family is really able to care for a large number of children that is one thing, but those that aren’t would be forced to rely on others to meet the children’s needs.
What’s your view on this issue? Should any family be criticized for its size?
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Pete Murphy says...
I think that those of us who are concerned about overpopulation and advocate stabilizing our population through some kind of populaion management policies will never get much traction with suggestions of limiting family size or criticizing anyone’s decisions about how large or small their family should be. Instead, our focus should be on the overall birth rate or fertility rate and we should adopt policies that provide economic incentives for people to choose smaller families. We don’t need to limit everyone to two children or one child. We need for those who would otherwise have ten children to choose only nine, those who would have five to choose to have only four instead, and so on. After all, here in the U.S., we only need to reduce our fertility rate slightly, from the current rate of about 2.1 to about 1.78. Why less than 2.0? Because of our steadily increaing life expectancy. As long as it increases, replacing each generation with one that lives longer will still produce population growth. Consider the extreme: if no one ever died, the fertility rate would have to fall to zero to reach a stable population.
The birth rate is only a small part of the problem. When it comes to population growth in the U.S., immigration is a much larger issue. Every year we import over a million people through legal immigration, and more through illegal immigration.
You may find my book interesting. It links population growth to our economic problems in a way that no other economist has. If you?re interested in learning more about this important new economic theory, then I invite you to visit my web site at OpenWindowPublishingCo.com where you can read the preface, join in the blog discussion and, of course, buy the book if you like. (It’s also available at Amazon.com.)
Please forgive me for the somewhat spammish nature of the previous paragraph, but I don’t know how else to inject this new theory into the debate about population growth without drawing attention to the book that explains the theory.
Pete Murphy
Author, “Five Short Blasts”
Pete Murphys last blog post..Real Per Capita GDP Falls 1.2%
Michelle says...
I have 5 children and I have learned to expect critical remarks from others when we are out in public.
I feel that family size is a personal matter and that it’s rude for others to make comments about this. That’s just me though.
Science-mom says...
The problem with our population is the huge differences in birthrates between countries. I have 2 kids and I am proud that I have exceeded the average birthrate of the European Union. However, in other countries (including the US), 2 is rather on the low side.
It is also sad that the highest birth rates are seen in low-income countries where people do not have enough resources to support their ever-increasing population.