If people were to say that people shouldnt have kids because of most other unchosen life circumstances (for example, “you shouldnt have kids because you belong to a cultural/ethnic group that we dont like”), that sentiment would be seen as prejudice. If one was to go further and suggest that government policy should reflect this, that policy would be seen as an injustice. But if people say “you shouldnt have kids because you’re poor”, that’s somehow seen as wisdom, and advocating that government policy reflect this by cutting off support systems is somehow seen as an acceptable position to hold. Given that people dont exactly choose to be poor, I find this inconsistent.

In any case, kids are not merely some expensive luxury. They are both something that any society needs a certain number of to sustainably function (since obviously, a society simply cant exist without people, and people dont live forever), and which represent a significant amount of generally unpaid labor to raise. Not everyone needs to have them, and some people just arent good with them or dont want them, but when your society’s birthrate is below what is sustainable in the long run, telling some of the people that actually do want to have kids not to, because you expect those people to pay for everything themselves without help from the society that eventually needs those people, is a stupid policy, and not exactly fair. Why should everyone else get to avoid the consequences of an aging and declining society, but expect only those that choose to be parents to pay for that?

You can work a forty hour work week, live responsibly, pay all your bills and taxes on time, etc, and still be below the poverty line in America. You can have kids while financially stable and get hurt or sick. You could have kids and your spouse could die.

This is a foolish, uneducated comment.

What about the people who thought about it, budgeted the payments into those plans but now can’t afford the children because of the unforeseeable changes?