So, who has this kind of money anyway? Oh. Right. The 1% to whom Congress and the candidates pander.
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Why We Can't Afford Our Children
I cut and pasted this USAA graph after guessing the answer incorrectly. Of course, it only feels like the cost of child raising has doubled since my sons were born in the late 1980s. The projected amount to put them through college at the time of their births was $100,000 for a Bachelors' degree.
So, who has this kind of money anyway? Oh. Right. The 1% to whom Congress and the candidates pander.
So, who has this kind of money anyway? Oh. Right. The 1% to whom Congress and the candidates pander.
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Christina
by Cole Scott
12 comments:
Yep, they reckon that here it costs about $125000 to raise a child to 18 years of age. I haven't done any real maths but I'm thinking that's about it. And I haven't even included Uni...my guys took out student loans (bit different to the US, they're interest free and don't have to be paid back until you're earning a reasonable income). It is horrifying though. I've always maintained that education should be free, it's a right, not a privilege.
Jayne: In my view, we continue to "breed" speaks to our desire for Beauty and Happiness. We are not the lump sum of what we cost our parents, our what our children cost us. The value of a human life is infinite, really, immeasurable.
Did you notice this info is being shared by an insurance company. They love to scare people into becoming customers. Costs certainly do go up. A slow inflation is better than the opposite deflation. That's what happened to the housing market and many hold off buying waiting for a lower price. The bigger problem IMHO is increases in both education and health costs. I don't think they are related but both appear to rise quicker than anything else.
The fact that people continue to breed in this economic climate blows me away.
Glad I'm not trying to raise a child these days. Thanks for the wake up call. Of course, the costs of everything are going up, but the cost of education is astounding!
The numbers become meaningless when you're just trying to get by on a day to day basis.
Well, I don't know much about the concept of breeding. I do know that the majority of people under the poverty line are children. They need to be raised, fed and cared for. These kinds of costs are not going to increase the rates of adoptions. It's a vicious circle.
Hope springs eternal Jayne!
Not to mention the "hidden" costs of all the wrapping paper, cookies, candy, and other assorted things our kids are required to sell (to us mostly) while they are in elementary school...
I don't think we had that when the boys were young, twenty years ago. San Diego schools were so-so but we had moved to one of the top two districts in the County and the needs were more of a volunteer nature on the part of the parents. For example, parents volunteered to teach art. I volunteered for remedial reading (loved it). When I moved to NH, their elementary school had an Art teacher and a Music teacher. I don't know about reading support. I had to go back to work. So many other things fell apart by the time they were in high school. That was when the system let them down.
Yes. I took it from USAA, a company I've been associated with since college. They do insurance and finance for military folk and their immediate families. I've always been happy with them though I periodically shop around, leave and come back. For banking, they can't be beat. No fees, they reimburse all ATM charges from other banks. They have low interest credit cards and their loan requirements are usually quite good.
I agree. Things would be so different if we provided any who wanted a free college education, even if only the first two years or a tech school education. There would be, I think, greater hope and a more level playing field in the area of income earning.
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