financial incentives to address human overpopulation

ninky_2

at last someone is willing to talk about the elephant in the room.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1373368/BBC-presenter-Chris-Packham-says-save-planet-fewer-babies.html

Packham, 49, who has no children of his own, told Radio Times: ‘By 2020, there are going to be 70million people in Britain. Let’s face it, that’s too many.’

He added: ‘There’s no point bleating about the future of pandas, polar bears and tigers when we’re not addressing the one single factor that’s putting more pressure on the ecosystem than any other – namely the ever-increasing size of the world’s population.’

Packham suggested offering couples a financial incentive as ‘a carrot’ to persuade them to have fewer – or no – children.

He said: ‘I would offer them tax breaks for having small families: say, 10 per cent off your tax bill if you decide to stick with just one child. And an even bigger financial incentive if you choose not to have a family at all.

CloudCuckooLand

Its been talked about before;

David Attenborough, 2003.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article855953.ece

“Instead of controlling the environment for the benefit of the population, maybe we should control the population to ensure the survival of our environment.”

And 2009;

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6087833.ece

David Attenborough to be patron of Optimum Population Trust

Sir David Attenborough said yesterday that the growth in global population was frightening, as he became a patron of an organisation that campaigns to limit the number of people in the world.
The television presenter and naturalist said that the increase in population was having devastating effects on ecology, pollution and food production.
“There are three times as many people in the world as when I started making television programmes only a mere 56 years ago,” he said, after becoming a patron of the Optimum Population Trust (OPT) think-tank.

The trust campaigns for global access to family planning and for couples to be encouraged to stop having more than two children.

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People are too selfish to hear.

chewmylegoff

we can pay for this by taxing the bankers, as long as they don't (i) have no children (ii) have one child or (iii) have more than two children.

Conrad

Yes, I often find myself conflicted. Gving to a cancer, malaria or water well charity leads to increasing population, but deep down most of all I want far fewer people as I value the Earth as a shining jewel in the vastness of space, but I feel she can only take so much.

More people means for example masses more plastic floating around the Oceans choking wildlife.

Also can anyone help me on this point; I was struck by Ray Mears experience living with indigenous tribes living in harmony with nature and providing for themselves quite happily over millenea. WHY DID WE IN THE WEST SEE FIT TO 'RESCUE' SUCH PEOPLE AND BURDEN THEM WITH THE GOAL OF ACHIEVING A WESTERN CONSUMER / MODERN LIFESTYLE? I'd say those tribal cultures seemed a lot happier than my direct debit invested complex striving stressful lifestyle.

ILW

In this country we seem to incentivise people to have as many children as possible. Very strange.

chewmylegoff

it's obvious that the world's population is far too big, but to me trying to limit the growth of the UK population is a bit like spending millions cutting UK carbon emissions when china is burning an extra gazillion tons of coal every second (a situation which may only be compounded by their apparent sudden fear of nuclear). what impact would slightly reducing the birth rate in the UK have on the world's population? notalot. what can we do to reduce birth rate in other countries? nothing.

even if we do take steps to attempt to limit the UK birth rate, the population will still keep growing. if you cannot control immigration, what is the point of saying to families living here that they must only have 1 child.

ninky_2

ILW wrote: »

In this country we seem to incentivise people to have as many children as possible. Very strange.

capitalism has relied on population growth to be sustainable.

abaxas

Remove all tax on cigs and alcohol.
Legalise all drugs.

Cheap and effective.

ess0two

ILW wrote: »

In this country we seem to incentivise people to have as many children as possible. Very strange.

Someones gotta pay the future pensions.:rotfl:

Conrad

In the end we won't limit ourselves as a species, but Mother nature will do it for us.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

chewmylegoff wrote: »

what can we do to reduce birth rate in other countries? nothing.

Educated women with access to birth control tend to have smaller families and to have them when they can afford to. It's worth investing in schemes that give women more control over their lives.

In this country I would start by cutting child benefit after a certain number per person- 3 or maybe 2.