the baby bonus

[rm]

It is, despite the tone of the Times, hardly a new idea. Certainly it was a done thing in the world of my childhood, but like the non-romantic vision of the engagement ring, it was a form of insurance.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/fashion/06push.html

Comments

[manycolored.livejournal.com]

Well-chosen gifts of appreciation or tokens to mark important events never go amiss. But this strikes me as one of those so-called gifts that are actually "non-salary compensation" for playing the subordinate gender role. It's degrading to both.

In one move it reduces a deeply personal thing to a transaction, and THEN reduces the transaction to FAR below what it would be worth if all the true costs to the woman were calculated.

[sethg]

Amen.

The article doesn't say much about the occupations of the men involved or the cost of the jewelry. Are these guys so rolling-in-it that their wives would lose face by not getting the occasional new rock to show off to their girlfriends? Are they too busy trying to make partner, or whatever, to spend significant time with their families, and using the bling as a substitute? Are they going into debt or sacrificing college/retirement savings so that their wives can have shiny things?

Somehow I am reminded of the proverb "if you marry for money, you will have to earn every penny of it".