Say what??

Ok. I just have to put this out there so SOMEONE can explain to me why ANYONE, let alone world leaders, are thinking this is a good idea.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has inadvertently spotlighted one of today's momentous mysteries: collapsing birthrates in industrialized countries. Putin proposed that Russia pay women to have children to remedy a "critical" population outlook.

-Newsweek (05/29/06), "The End of Motherhood"

PAYING women to have children?? Is this a joke? I mean, seriously, if women don't want children, who is going to be enticed to have them for a financial gain? (And I'm sure only in the first year...kids are EXPENSIVE!) I understand the problem: if population decreases, there will be a time where there are more elderly than young workers, causing an economic problem for the country. So this is the best solution?? Not only will the wrong women (in my opinion) start having kids, but there are all kinds of environmental issues too, right? I mean, the world is already overpopulated now. My goodness, China puts a LIMIT to how many kids one family can have! And now we're seeing a country decide to put money that could go to 5 million other things into THIS? Can someone please explain to me what I'm missing??

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