A comment was recently left on my post about the Maddox article concerning irresponsible people having children. I wanted to elaborate my thoughts on this a little more. 

Why do I think that there should be government involvement when it comes to children? Simply put, I have seen far too many people exploit the system. I have seen people who shouldn't be allowed to have a dog raise children that were holy terrors. This irresponsible behaviour is a strain on the economy, unsafe for the children in question and unwise for the parents.

I feel that requiring a person to obtain a permit before having a child would greatly help the current situation.  

Ideally, there would be a three step process in obtaining a license to raise a child.

First, I think that they should take a basic competency test when a person would like to have a child. It would be basic financial literacy, common sense things (like who it's ok to leave your child with, and child safety questions like keeping chemicals and medicines out of a child's reach), and disciplinary practices.

The second step would be a lifestyle assessment. There would be a background check (to make sure there were no violent or sexual crimes), and financial assessment to verify you have the means to support a child. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have references either.

Thirdly, would be a supervision evaluation. How much time the parent(s) would be able to devote to the child would be paramount in the decision to allow (or deny) a permit.

I don't think "morals" or "creeds" should factor into it. No one is going to say that they think it's ok to lie or steal on any kind of application, unless they are seriously stupid.

Most of these things, in some variation, are required to adopt a child. Why should having a biological child be any different? Not just any idiot off the street can walk into an adoption agency and take home a child, but any idiot without enough sense to use protection when having sex can have a child and raise them pretty much however they want, within some rather loose guidelines. The only time they are called into question is if the child goes to school bruised or malnourished. Other forms of neglect and abuse are often ignored, like using the television as a babysitter, having a harmful or unstable environment for the child, or making mistakes out of ignorance that could cause the child a lot of psychological problems later in life.

If you failed the test, you could either come back after a period of time to take it again, or take parenting classes that covered the above subjects for a nominal fee.

If you got pregnant without a permit, you would not be able to take the child home without supervision until you completed your test and received your permit. With the permit, you would be able to apply for a social security number for your child, and take advantage of community assistance for new parents to help them learn and be better parents.

After all, it takes a village to raise a child. :)

If I wanted to have a child, I would not mind personally going through these steps in order to prove myself capable of raising a child. Especially with a first baby, it would help a lot with fears and insecurities. It could certainly equip a person with more knowledge and confidence about the whole process.

Ultimately, as with healthcare, I would prefer to see such practices be standard, and without the need for government involvement. If towns functioned as actual communities, things like more welfare benefits for people with more children, but no effort to support those children, would be non-existent. At some point I need to post my thoughts on de-regulated healthcare, community and privatized medical services, and the proposed abolishment of the FDA. 

I would love to see everyone take responsibility for their actions, make an effort to support themselves, and not knowingly do things that might put a strain on their finances or cause issues for those around them. Unfortunately, people seem to veer forever toward laziness and a complete lack of concern about what their actions might effect.

For those who are pretty much non-contributing members of our society, would it not be pertinent to take steps in order to keep the bottom feeders from breeding?