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  3. Among the government’s most interesting reports is one that estimates what parents spend on their children. Not surprisingly, th

Among the government’s most interesting reports is one that estimates what parents spend on their children. Not surprisingly, th

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问题     Among the government’s most interesting reports is one that estimates what parents spend on their children. Not surprisingly, the costs are steep. For a middle-class, husband-and-wife family(average pretax income in 2009: $ 76 250), spending per child is about $ 12 000 a year. With inflation the family’s spending on a child will total $ 286 050 by age 17.
    The dry statistics ought to inform the ongoing deficit debate, because a budget is not just a catalog of programs and taxes. It reflects a society’s priorities and values. Our society does not—despite rhetoric(说辞)to the contrary—put much value on raising children. Present budget policies tax parents heavily to support the elderly. Meanwhile, tax breaks for children are modest. If deficit reduction aggravates these biases, more Americans may choose not to have children or to have fewer children. Down that path lies economic decline.
    Societies that cannot replace their populations discourage investment and innovation. They have stagnant(萧条的)or shrinking markets for goods and services. With older populations, they resist change. To stabilize its population—discounting immigration—women must have an average of two children. That’s a fertility rate of 2.0. Many countries with struggling economies are well below that.
    Though having a child is a deeply personal decision, it’s shaped by culture, religion, economics, and government policy. "No one has a good answer" as to why fertility varies among countries, says sociologist Andrew Cherlin of The Johns Hopkins University. Eroding religious belief in Europe may partly explain lowered birthrates. In Japan young women may be rebelling against their mothers’ isolated lives of child rearing. General optimism and pessimism count. Hopefulness fueled America’s baby boom. After the Soviet Union’s collapse, says Cherlin, "anxiety for the future" depressed birthrates in Russia and Eastern Europe.
    In poor societies, people have children to improve their economic well-being by increasing the number of family workers and providing support for parents in their old age. In wealthy societies, the logic often reverses. Government now supports the elderly, diminishing the need for children. By some studies, the safety nets for retirees have reduced fertility rates by 0.5 children in the United States and almost 1.0 in Western Europe, reports economist Robert Stein in the journal National Affairs. Similarly, some couples don’t have children because they don’t want to sacrifice their own lifestyles to the time and expense of a family.
    Young Americans already face a bleak labor market that cannot instill(注入)confidence about having children. Piling on higher taxes won’t help, "If higher taxes make it more expensive to raise children," says Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute, "people will think twice about having another child." That seems like common sense, despite the multiple influences on becoming parents.
Why do people in wealthy countries prefer to have fewer children?
选项 A、They want to further improve their economic well-being.
B、They cannot afford the time and expenses of rearing children.
C、They are concerned about the future of the coming generation.
D、They don’t rely on their children to support them in old age.
答案D
解析 推理判断题。文章笫五段第二句提到，在富裕社会里，这一逻辑与贫穷社会恰恰相反；第三句中进一步进行说明，由于政府现在供养老年人，客观上减少了对子女的需要，所以人们倾向于少生孩子。第四句中通过一些研究数据进一步说明人们倾向于少生孩子的原因在于政府为退休人员织就的安全网。综合以上内容可知，富裕社会的人不愿意生孩子，原因在于政府为老年人提供的福利条件较好，不需要子女为他们养老．所以本题答案为D)。
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