Ok, so I was thinking. If too many people are the problem (that is the problem, right?) then what do we as a society do about it? My pappy’s old adage is “if you find yourself in a hole the first thing you do is stop digging!” I have successfully used this thinking on a number of occasions. So then, how do we discourage babies? There is clearly a big market out there for them. Our Toys R Us is building a huge addition on that will become Babies R Us (hmm baby = toy?). A brilliant marketing area for sure. A one-to-one correspondence between babies and expensive strollers is clearly a great business opportunity. Parents-to-be are assaulted with ads for all kinds of things that I never even thought we might need. Tub liners, diaper disposal systems, bottles that reduce belching, swings, car seats.... the list goes on (lest we forget stuffed animals and the binky). This whole operation of course is predicated on having 2 things simultaneously 1) a baby (duh) and 2) discretionary income. This whole baby thing seems pretty expensive. What about the other side of this here coin? Another wise mentor in my life (me Mams this time) tells me that in her part of the world people may be having babes to actually get money. I am being a bit flippant, I will grant you, but apparently under some state and federal assistance rules having another mouth to feed can be a net income gain (although I wonder if as in many things this makes for a good potential problem source but in actual terms the numbers are not significant when compared to the bigger picture). I also have been fascinated by the phrase “our little tax deduction”. We will actually get a tax break for having a kid? In a consumer oriented society I guess this is the equivalent of getting our cut on the deal. Another child, another stroller. If I look at this as a scientist (which I often do since I am) I am fascinated by cause and effect. With my fruit flies I can control the population by raising them at 68 degrees. Is there a set of conditions for control of the human population? Uggh, after helping water the garden last week I can certainly imagine a few that make me shudder. Famine, disease, drought. My flies don’t generally have to put up with these things (unless I don’t pay attention to them...oops). On the other hand the analogy with my flies is clearly flawed, because when they get to be too many for a bottle the hand of God (me...ha!) comes in and splits them into multiple new bottles with new food and plenty of elbow room. God in the machine indeed. So again I find myself long on questions and short on answers. What are our motivations for wanting a child? Can they really be manipulated? Should they be?
