Friday 2 March 2007

Money can't buy you love (or extra children)

The rapid growth of a rich middle class is once again bringing China's strict one child policy into the limelight.

Whilst there is a large literature on the economics of fertility the situation is China is altogether different. In a country were incomes for the few are growing very quickly whilst government policy moves more slowly we are reaching the position were the fines that parents would have to pay for having an additional child become trivial and cease to act as any sort of deterrent.

A situation where the number of children a couple can have is solely dependent on their income is not ideal and is certainly not consistent with an ethos of equality. This is a difficult and complex issue and such policies will be harder to enforce once rampant capitalism takes hold.

Again, we return to the fact that the vast majority of the population object to the wealthy receiving special treatment.
Wealthy may face rap for breaking one-child policy
Society
2 March 2007

China's rich and famous could face tougher punishments for breaking the country's one-child policy rule, the South China Morning Post reported. National Population and Family Planning Commission (NPFPC) officials said heavier fines could be imposed on those who have more than one child. NPFPC propaganda department director Zhang Jian said that celebrities should also face public criticism as well as fines, and perhaps even further punishments such as not being allowed to compete for awards. "They are not afraid of being fined, but they pay a lot of attention to their reputation," he was quoted as saying by the Beijing Morning Post. The potential measures are seen as being part of a response to a growing public perception that the wealthy use their resources to gain preferential treatment.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Don't worry, wealth people usually have less children. The best birth control is making someone rich.

See youtube.com "Why idiots prevail." This is exactly what's happening in today's USA.