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To: Caleb1411

This is an interesting thesis. The problem is that if being family-oriented is such a big deal, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore ought to have sky-high birth-rates. Instead, their birth rates are almost half of what we see stateside. I think the real problem is that in non-agrarian societies where parents are expect to pay their childrens’ way through college, kids are an economic liability rather than an asset. In fact, the family-orientedness of East Asian societies makes this worse - for as long as they remain single, the children continue to leech off their parents after they grow to adulthood instead of moving out and living on their own.


21 posted on 02/25/2008 1:33:48 PM PST by Zhang Fei
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To: Zhang Fei

Homeschool, stay out of debt, and let the kiddies pay their own way in college if you aren’t rich. Problem solved : ) . . .


48 posted on 02/25/2008 1:59:10 PM PST by Greg F (Do you want a guy named Hussein to fix your soul? Michelle Obama thinks you do.)
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To: Zhang Fei
... I think the real problem is that in non-agrarian societies where parents are expect to pay their childrens’ way through college, kids are an economic liability rather than an asset. In fact, the family-orientedness of East Asian societies makes this worse - for as long as they remain single, the children continue to leech off their parents after they grow to adulthood instead of moving out and living on their own.

That's restating what my comment is, better than I could.

You need to have a mechanism in place to strongly encourage responsible behavior by the children, or to at the extreme expel them from the group (like saying "they'll be no bums in this family" before kicking them out the door and writing them out of your will, etc.). Or else the children who chose to lay around and not work but still take up food and housing and medical and other expenses will suck the group (family) assets dry at the cost of the parents / other siblings...

145 posted on 02/26/2008 6:56:07 AM PST by Screaming_Gerbil (Let's Roll...)
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