You're So Money, Baby, And You Don't Even Know It.

And let her know her child is a baby,
And not a paycheck
--Outkast

Japan pays Cash for Babes. Newborns, that is.

Japanese Town Will Pay Women to Have Kids

How about getting paid 1 million yen for having a baby?

To combat a shrinking population, a small town in northern Japan has decided to give a cash award worth about $9,600 to each female resident who has a third child, an official said Friday.

This is what I'm talking about at Renegades. The local governments in Nara and Kyoto are really struggling with this issue of depopulation.

If you think about it, the Canadian government's move towards 'Nationalized Daycare' might be preventative measure against a declining fertility rate. It might be some sort of action to head off the choice of working women who are considering children: continue a career, or have kids? This isn't a supportive argument, just a motivation.

I'm not offering a positive judgement on the program. I feel it will be horrendously expensive and will become a *shiver* new cash sinkhole. If anyone were to manage daycare, it should the provinces (if it becomes necessary, and I don't it will). Fortunately, Canada has a large immigrantion flow that is keeping our replacement rate afloat.