On issues ranging from global warming to Keynesian economics, I consider myself on the progressive left. But there is one issue on which I stand somewhere to the right of Benito Mussolini: In general, people shouldn't have children they can't support, and in particular, WOMEN ON WELFARE SHOULDN'T BE REPRODUCING at all.
There is no point of view from which this is a good idea. Not from the point of view of the women and her child themselves. They're already in a hole; they shouldn't be digging any deeper.
Not from the point of view of the taxpayer, who doesn't want to be shelling out even more to support the idle poor and their broods.
Not from the point of view of society as a whole. For whatever reason, these are people who can't quite figure out how to put one foot in front of the other in life. We should not be subsidizing the least successful people in our society to reproduce. Moreover, it is the progeny of these people who cause problems in the schools, making it hard or impossible for others to learn. The boys drop out and join gangs; the girls get pregnant, drop out, and continue the cycle.
There should be no additional benefits for having additional illegitimate children. Rather, there should be a stipend for each month the mother remains un-pregnant. If she becomes pregnant and gives birth again, she loses the stipend. And this stipend should be significant-- a quarter or a third of her basic check. This should be one of a set of carrots and sticks designed to SUCCESSFULLY discourage these women from reproducing.
