Monetary Incentives Truly Are NOT All That Matter
26 September 2006
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Central to Mayor Bloomberg's poverty-fighting proposal are "incentive payments for better parenting" ("The Mayor's War on Poverty," September 26). This plan is utterly ridiculous. People who must be paid to take good care of their children are unlikely to become genuinely good parents (much less productive citizens). How many mothers and fathers can you name who are good parents only because they are bribed to practice "better parenting"?
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Central to Mayor Bloomberg's poverty-fighting proposal are "incentive payments for better parenting" ("The Mayor's War on Poverty," September 26). This plan is utterly ridiculous. People who must be paid to take good care of their children are unlikely to become genuinely good parents (much less productive citizens). How many mothers and fathers can you name who are good parents only because they are bribed to practice "better parenting"?
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Monday May 28, 2007 at 7:55am