It turned out why the tax on childlessness is dangerous: it’s treated like chickens and roosters

The topic of a tax on childlessness for those who do not want to reproduce voluntarily was again raised by the dean of the faculty of “extreme psychology” at Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Dmitry Daulin. The proposal is to return this tax in an extreme way, as it was in the USSR: 6% of salary monthly to the treasury from every officially childless man, whether he is married or single. There was some relief for women. Unmarried ladies did not pay tax in Soviet times. The MK columnist argued with the scientist.

I’m still waiting for someone to say that children should be born from love. Well, at least someone. No. From all the high stands, throughout the last year, the same thing has been heard: children simply must be born. And if you don’t want to give birth to them, then you also owe it to the state.

Like on some kind of poultry farm, carrying out a plan. Nobody demands high feelings from chickens. Neither to the rooster, nor to the hatched eggs. For fulfilling the plan they give food, for non-fulfillment they get a whip.

Do you think we’re playing with toys here? If you are good boys and girls, you will receive maternity capital and 450 rubles of additional mortgage payment for the third one. If you are self-willed, we’ll get into your wallet again. And at the same time to bed.

And it would be nice if they explained to us clearly and honestly why so many children are needed, and in such industrial quantities? Even street cleaners can be replaced with robots, not to mention more highly qualified personnel.

So why? To just be?

Yes, in ancient times, children were born often and in large numbers for three reasons. Firstly, it was impossible for individuals on earth to physically survive. Each child, crawling out of the cradle, immediately became a full-fledged working unit from the age of five, without discounts for age. At the age of eight, my own grandmother, born in 1907, was sent to be a nanny for neighbors. So that they can feed her at the same time. She learned to read and write after the revolution.

The grandmother lived for 98 years, having gone through the crucible of the 20th century, raising four daughters, solely thanks to her health.

But I never saw her smile. This mournful stamp of “owes everyone” lay on her face.

Most did not survive. And this is the second reason to give birth a lot and in reserve. Because children in traditional society died en masse in infancy. Of the ten, three survived to adulthood; they were no longer afraid of anything, neither cholera nor plague. High birth rates compensated for high infant mortality rates.

The third reason why they gave birth a lot was the inability to use contraception.

In the post-industrial society of the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, all these three reasons are removed. But many others have appeared, convincing and objective, to give birth less. And this is not at all a matter of child-free psychology.

As sociologists explain, in a traditional society, a child begins to “pay off” quite quickly: he is “assigned” with responsibilities, the fulfillment of which allows him to free up the productive labor of adult family members. The baby becomes a working resource that reduces the cost of its provision. Like my eight-year-old grandmother, who was fed by her employers, and even paid a few pennies to her parents for their help.

In a post-industrial urban society, a child is, first of all, an expensive pleasure. It takes a long time to grow, and in the process of growth it requires serious capital investments: in addition to food, clothing, entertainment, it also includes studies, tutors, paid education, which in the future will allow him to support himself.

Therefore, a large family in a traditional society grows economically with the birth of children, but in an urban society it does not.

In the 21st century, people do not have children to significantly reduce their quality of life. They give birth to children out of love and a sincere desire to have them. What our ancestors were absolutely deprived of. And this is the most important achievement of modern civilization.

And now they offer us to give birth so as not to pay another tax…

In my opinion, I couldn’t think of a more ridiculous reason.