so a mayor wants to pay some people not to have children. Read the article then I'm interested in what you think.

I'm not sure I like the idea specifically but I do like it in general and the idea behind it. The world is not seriously tackling it huge over population problem and we need to come up with creative solutions to it. In most industrialized countries the problem is not overpopulation but under, some countries like Japan are having so few children there will be no Japanese left in a few generations. But in much of the developing world overpopulation is a huge problem. As well as very poor areas of wealthier nations.

For people who are very poor this much money could do alot and not having kids would would make them wealthier in the long term. There would have to be a way for them to get it reversed and not be discriminated against somehow.

One simpler way to do it in some countries is to take away tax breaks for people who do have children BUT that would not stop people from having them and many countries where overpopulation is a problem don't have tax breaks for having kids.

People might argue against something like this from an economic standpoint but in the long term it would save lots of money. Even if we used the amount of $10,000 the mayor is proposing. It would save tons of money in welfare, food stamps, education, let alone crime and prison. Thing is we would not see this money it just would not be spent and there would be no visible results for years.

Contraceptives are not working overall to get people to have less kids. India and China along have about half the world's population. Part of the problem is cultural and people not having contraceptives available so they don't have unwanted children.

It would have to be made sure that this is not taken too far and become Gattaca like. Make sure people don't have to apply for kids or anything like that.

I'm not sure exactly how the specifics of a plan like this would work to be moral and effective but something does need to be done. Maybe different similar plans should be tried around the world and just see what works and what doesn't. We have way too many people on the planet it would make jobs easier to get, less of a pollution problem, food shortages, etc This should also make the adoption problem better, less kids in the system and maybe some of the people who are then capable of having kids adopt them. It is not a cure all by any means but makes many solutions to problems easier.

So what do you all think?

• ( http link ) Pay problem parents not to breed - mayor
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