Hacker News: bigballsbjorn

New comment by bigballsbjorn in "Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care"

bigballsbjorn — Wed, 27 May 2026 04:08:07 +0000

i dont really have resentment toward having children. my only resentment is toward having to pay into a social system where the majority of recipients don't understand why having no children is breaking the social contract.

New comment by bigballsbjorn in "Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care"

bigballsbjorn — Wed, 27 May 2026 04:05:12 +0000

doesnt make sense unless money has no meaning anymore.

New comment by bigballsbjorn in "Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care"

bigballsbjorn — Wed, 27 May 2026 00:03:48 +0000

why would it be paid? you get the value back through the social contract. monetary incentives for children are empirically proven to be very ineffective. so the ship will go down regardless. why not to punish the culprits out of spite?

New comment by bigballsbjorn in "Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care"

bigballsbjorn — Wed, 27 May 2026 00:01:00 +0000

its true tho, basically all the time after working your 9-5 you have to invest into your children. i personally still want to have children in my mid 20s. i don't really care about the downside due to my ideological conviction. but even if you are a rational actor and respect the social contract you must bear the burden.

New comment by bigballsbjorn in "Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care"

bigballsbjorn — Tue, 26 May 2026 22:14:05 +0000

again, the problem is demographic. people like you are not able to see beyond the first order effects. if you finance the social system from the rich you will fundamentally not fix the issue. you can't eat euros.

New comment by bigballsbjorn in "Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care"

bigballsbjorn — Tue, 26 May 2026 22:09:51 +0000

its low in practice for a family with a single earner is what i meant. ehegattenpsplitting. but yes by default its obviously very high but thats kind of the norm for western countries.

New comment by bigballsbjorn in "Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care"

bigballsbjorn — Tue, 26 May 2026 16:37:16 +0000

doesnt mean the solution is bombarding them with free money from the state. in a democracy there is probably no sensible or passable solution regardless.

New comment by bigballsbjorn in "Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care"

bigballsbjorn — Tue, 26 May 2026 16:33:03 +0000

if you marry you basically half your income tax burden if your partner is not employed. there are also child support payments from the government of several hundred € per month that you get as well as free kindergarten, schooling and higher ed. if you are poor you get money from the state until you hit a minimum income threshhold which together with all the other payments is more than enough to have 2 children.

New comment by bigballsbjorn in "Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care"

bigballsbjorn — Tue, 26 May 2026 16:28:59 +0000

children will massively compromise your lifestyle, not just financially but they require a lot of "labor" from you. this is probably the most important piece of the social contract and if you are breaking it you should be penalized.

New comment by bigballsbjorn in "Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care"

bigballsbjorn — Tue, 26 May 2026 16:25:57 +0000

almost always the case especially in germany where you are already incentivised with super low income taxes, free kindergarten and a shit load of other payments from the goverment. its basically impossible to be poor enough not to afford children unless you are doing it intentionally.