The American Spectator

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p> POPULATION TAXES br> Re: Reuven Brenner's Demographic Self-Indulgence and Its Remedy : /p>

Might I also mention the elephant in the parlor? Confiscatory tax rates.

p>Consider that the average, not rich, family in the U.S. pays about 40 percent of its annual income in federal, state and local taxes. Therefore before we can contemplate children, much less supporting them, we must pay the taxman before we can shelter, clothe or feed our kids. Notice that birthrates tend to be higher in red America versus blue America. Is it coincidence that taxes and the general cost of living are lower in red America? Or, is out of control government spending and the therefore requisite taxes the ultimate in anti-family policies practiced by our government? br> -- Eugene Podrazik br> Casper, Wyoming /p>

The article "Demographic Self-Indulgence and Its Remedy" by Reuven Brenner finds one cause of the demographic crisis in Europe in the realization by prospective parents that having children imposes costs on them that will result in a reduction in their freedom. That is, there are opportunity costs in having children.

p>Another important consideration depressing European's willingness to have children is the constant barrage of environmental propaganda. Europeans are constantly warned that there are too many people in the world, that a growing population threatens the ecology, that disaster is about to befall the world. If people have been told often enough that "Human beings are the problem," they will feel guilty about bringing more children into the world. The suppression of the population is one of the main goals of the environmental movement and it has been very successful indeed in Europe. br> --

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