We used to have a “baby bonus” payment about 20 years ago in Australia. It made very little difference to birth rates and was derisively called the “plasma TV bonus”. Turns out that even 20 years ago a small lump sum of cash wasn’t enough to persuade people to sign up for a lifetime of expenses and responsibilities by having more kids. It was just a handout to middle class families that could already afford to have kids, which is why it was scrapped.
It’s likely need to be much larger to actually cover those costs; A hospital birth in the US can be anywhere from $50k-$100k.
And even if it did cover that cost, it would just be a way to indirectly funnel taxpayer money directly into the healthcare industry. Sort of like how the unemployment bonus during COVID was just used to enrich landlords.
5K isn’t going to go far for birthing and raising a child.
We used to have a “baby bonus” payment about 20 years ago in Australia. It made very little difference to birth rates and was derisively called the “plasma TV bonus”. Turns out that even 20 years ago a small lump sum of cash wasn’t enough to persuade people to sign up for a lifetime of expenses and responsibilities by having more kids. It was just a handout to middle class families that could already afford to have kids, which is why it was scrapped.
It sounds like they’re paying parents to abandon their children to research abroad.
might cover the out-of-pocket prenatal and birth costs for some new mothers.
It’s likely need to be much larger to actually cover those costs; A hospital birth in the US can be anywhere from $50k-$100k.
And even if it did cover that cost, it would just be a way to indirectly funnel taxpayer money directly into the healthcare industry. Sort of like how the unemployment bonus during COVID was just used to enrich landlords.