Comments on: Family Feud

By: Jewellery Talk

Jewellery Talk — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:48:21 +0000

But if Bryan thinks many, many, many mothers have not and do not in fact regret foregone experience, challenge, success, and status then I fear he’s not paying attention

By: Emilia Liz

Emilia Liz — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:33:43 +0000

I’m sceptical of the argument that women want children so much more than men do. Most surveys find that the majority of both genders want children; the remainder seem to be split between those finding women more likely to want children and men more likely to want them. As for which gender wants a greater number of children, that’s more questionable. Surveys taken in Third World countries generally find when there’s a difference in size preferences, men want more children. In developed countries there hasn’t been so much research so it’s much more difficult to say.

By: Kerry Howley » Blog Archive » The Cruel Tyranny of the Childless

Kerry Howley » Blog Archive » The Cruel Tyranny of the Childless — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:09:21 +0000

[...] been enjoying this back and forth over Bryan Caplan’s assertion that he’d rather his hypothetical daughter give [...]

By: KJ

KJ — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:36:20 +0000

Nice blog entry. It reminds me of that oft mis-read Frost Poem, the Road Not Taken. We often look back on our lives and assume we made the better choice and it all worked out for the best. This almost always happens with teenage births especially among the middle class and above where there are resources available to take care of the kid and the kid ends up being really really cute. But nobody thinks about that when they find out their 15 year old is pregnant. Everyone wishes the pregnancy would go away and for good reason. But people will hopefully adapt (if they insist on not aborting it) and make the best of it and eventually look back and consider it all for the best that the pregnancy occurred. They would be likely wrong but no one wants to consider little Jimmy a mistake especially after he brings home that jewelry box made of Popsicle sticks.

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

By: jen

jen — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:25:33 +0000

Only 1.5% of women who become mothers during their teen years earn a college degree by age 30. While this won’t matter to Jamie-Lynn, who doesn’t need a college degree, it is economically devastating to the rest of the population in question.

By: April

April — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:47:38 +0000

What I conclude from reading Bryan’s inital post and now his response is….he probably doesn’t know many women. And he seems not passing familiar with 16 year old girls, if he thinks that many of them are ready to be, even minimally-adequate, mothers, let alone single mothers. Add in the fact that 16-year-olds don’t usually have a high school diploma - so this would-be single mom will be paid minimum wage……..
his position mystifies me.