Quote:
Originally Posted by SeijiSensei
I would imagine it depends on how the issue is portrayed. If subsidies are discussed in "zero-sum" terms, suggesting that money spent on families would mean reductions to old-age pensions, then it's not hard to imagine pensioners would not be interested in expanding support for families.
Then there is always the notion of whether those being subsidized are "deserving." Presumably if you are from a generation when having children was not subsidized, you might find it hard to sympathize with young families today. I bet few Japanese people have a clue about that $77,000 figure the Times cited. I suspect if asked in a poll what it costs to raise a child over the first five years of life, the answers would be half that figure or less.
|
Actually, I am not surprised the figure is not higher, especially in rural Japan-I was reading about how Japan had schools with 3 teachers and 1 student. Japan would need to consolidate many of these declining small villages for the purpose of delivering social services.