For what it is worth, I don't think anyone sane would have kids to get money. In fact, you couldn't pay me to have children and raise them. I know what a shitty brat I've been and I'm sure if God or karma exists, I'll get an equally shitty child or worse I'll make a very shitty parent. (Parents: yes, people without kids also have nightmares about fucking up as parents)
Thankfully though many if not most people want children even though it makes no sense. This is good for me because these are the kids who will build and maintain roads, hospitals, and electric lines when our generation can no longer walk without a cane.
I don't think we need to encourage people to have many children. Those who want multiple children should find alternate ways to fund their lifestyle.
Edit: I assume above that basic healthcare for everyone exists with $0 out of pocket even if it is some couple's 99th child.
It's well cemented in the public consciousness as a result, so you'll see it trotted out whenever monetary benefits are proposed to help children.
No idea at all how to do that though.
Man, that kept me up many a night before my kid was born! She turned out to be amazing, though. Definitely didn't get it from me.
We had to rely on EBT (food stamps) and Medicaid when she was little and we were both in college. Medicaid was amazing, at least for someone who couldn't afford to go to a doctor for a decade or more beforehand, but besides that perk the welfare benefits for having a child basically balanced out the increased costs of raising one. Can't say how well this would scale with n+1 kids though.
I see you haven't met my mother. Count yourself lucky.
Those people exist – there's some quite generous child benefit programs in some EU countries, and the math seems to be simple –, but they're far more rare than the "OMG WELFARE PARASITES" would want you to believe. (And in many cases child protection agencies intervene and get the kids off to safety, because as it turns out, people using kids as money presses tend to have a screw loose or five.)
And honestly, I don't see the problem. People get kids for all the wrong reasons, people abuse their kids for all the wrong reasons; that won't get significantly worse. At the same time, fewer kids will grow up in crippling poverty and have their lives ruined before they turn 10 because their parents can't afford to give them any useful education outside the bare minimum provided by public schools.
Having children for financial benefits is a real thing.
It's not just something people accuse the poor of for the purpose of hate (although it is commonly used in such a way).
It's usually not as direct as "let me have this kid so I can get my rebate check", but it's certainly a consideration for many people who are poor. The mentality is more along the lines of "I can't make it by myself, but as a family, we might be able to sustain ourselves".
Most people are aware that it will probably end up costing them more in the long run, but people do crazy things in desperate times.
Edit: yes, I do, but I am unsure if it will stand the test of Hacker News readers :)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2172480?seq=1#page_scan_tab_con... http://www.iqtestexperts.com/iq-family.php