My father had no business having children as he had no intension of supporting us emotionally or financially. My mother raised us well beneath the poverty line - so she couldn’t afford to be a parent. Here’s the thing: I’m awfully glad to be here. Sometimes we start out rough and end up ok. I don’t think people should give birth to more children then they can get to know as individuals. There should be time enough for nurturing. Having kids based on finance is responsible - but it stinks when it means the parents can afford to hire nanny’s to raise their kids. This is a tough issue. Nobody should have kids unless they are ready to come second - that’s the biggest thing people seem not to realize. Also: when they stop being beautiful babies they learn to talk - then there are a dozen trying years. It’s good to factor this into the number of children one creates.

Whoopi, I must respectfully disagree with you. Sure, if people want to adopt or foster existing and needy children, that’s great! I’m all for it, and I believe that Angelina/Brad are a great example of what people can do when they have the money. But, the reality of increasing our population so very much at the expense of our planet? NO! Please read Hot,Flat & Crowded, by Tom Friedman, and study the statistics that he gives as to what the planet is going through.

I realize that my reality of whether or not I could “afford” 18 children (or one for that matter) could be way different and conflicting than an other woman’s. For instance, a single woman making 250k a year would think she can afford it, but then so does a woman who has 5 baby daddy’s and wants to make it 6 after all her rent is like $25, so yeah she can afford it too.

I agree as I do with most of your opinions. OT: Don’t wear those awful dresses anymore. ;) LOL!

“Let People Have as Many Kids as They Please if They Can Afford It” C’mon Whoopi. Define “afford it”. Where is the watermark for being able to afford it? If a family is deemed to be unable to “afford it” what controls do you put on them in order to prevent them from having more babies? What would the punishment be if someone stepped beyond the prescribed pale of reproduction? I agree with you for the most part Whoopi but your statement appears to leave room for the government to control a person’s natural right to be master of their own body. True enough some people are without much sense and their children often need to be rescued or at least monitored to ensure that they are treated well enough. However, problems occur in families with one or few children as well as in families of every socio-economic dynamic. Poverty is not a predictor of potential for poor parenting anymore than wealth is a predictor of success. Having babies and/or fornication between consenting adults is not something that ANYONE should ever have to seek out official permission to do.

Being able to raise the financially and emotionally is equally important. Financially, so they don’t need government support to raise their family and emotionally, to give each child the equal attention necessary to raise smart, confident, productive adults. Misty, Founder My Inspiration Lounge http://www.myinspirationlounge.com Connecting women to the best of the web without all the searching!

People find fault with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) but rarely acknowledge one of that nation’s most enlightened initiatives: the One Child Policy. The rich who can afford it may decide to have large numbers of children, but what kind of example are they setting for the vast majority at the other end of the economic scale? Likewise, the U.S. needs to set an example for the world by limiting its population and achieving a sustainable economy and growth rate. What right do we have to demand that China and India develop reasonable carbon footprints given our history of heedless oil and coal consumption?

Public schools, police, fire, library, roads, parks, and more are all paid for in the property taxes assessed in the state in which I live. That assessment is based on supposed property value, not the number of people living there. As a matter of fact, people receive federal tax deducations for their children, so someone with children will pay less federal and state tax than someone without children who earns the same amount. I believe it’s rather naive to take the approach that “paying” for children is something only the children’s parents do. We all pay, whether or not we have children.

Whoopi’s point is well made, except for the fact that relying on ‘affordability’ is one tricky deal these days—-when the Dems ruled, there was a ‘safety-net’, i recall Whoopi once needed such, i sure did—-and it was there—-now? that ‘safety’ has become an anchor tied to your family, then a quick toss off a Reeps 60’ Bertram—-my ‘knack’ was founding new industries, that now employ many thousands, from those who simply, as a pack of running-dogs, followed my innovations—-and creative whiz-kids are seldom MBAs—-yet i managed to recover from 1st a 7-figure status, lost to a lune’s libel, and thanks to the past ‘safety-net’, i went on to an 8-figure worth, only to have that ‘wiped’ by a Reeps signature—-for over 2 decades i Paid the SSA the max—-yet when i ‘burned-out’ (acute panic-disorder/depression)—-my insurer, the Fed cheated me, Big-Time—-$650/month—-and get this, if i had never paid a cent for ‘disability’ protection, was an SSI soul, eligible for the safety net! then i’m clobbered in a ‘strong-arm-robbery’, thieves had my SSA card—-i go to get a new one—-the lady asks if i would like a print-out of my SSA record—-1 year of a 6-figure salary was there—-not 20—-but lucky me, as an ex CEO, the IRS HAD my records, linked to employee I.D.#—-sent them to me—-back to the SSA—-and the 1st SSA lady said she would ‘file-for-reconsideration’—-Not! She lied—-and the damage had been done—-wife of 25 years lost her mind, divorced me, shattered a family—-finally i gather my ‘scrambled’ senses, go to my local SSA office, only to find no ‘reconsideration’ had ever been filed—-that lady did so promptly—-so in weeks i had thousands owed repaid—-too futzing late—-and then the IRS slaps a lien on those owed monies—-so now, as it should have been years ago, my Fed-Insurer is paying for what i bought—-gee thanks—-and it all goes to Reeps—-people wish large families? nothing wrong with that—-but trust $$$, here? you robbed it, inherited it, or are The Godfather—-personally, i’d rather deal with him, vs. the Big Fish of pure crime—-Reeps—-

I don’t have kids. But I have family, friends and neighbors with children. I love love em. I see them on the bus and subway, walking up and down the street, family pictures and well every where. My taxes help to support them just like they help to support everything else the USA Congress and Senate and local govt decides.There is NO other country that I would want to live in, visit on vacation if I can afford it yes. Obama/Biden ‘08