Appreciate Others, Especially Mothers

In 1997, I saved a column in the Albuquerque Journal by Joan Beck, a syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune. She spelled out the value of motherhood in economic terms, and her words stuck with me. At the time, I was in the initial phase of my motherhood journey.

She quoted from a book by S.P. Burggraf titled “The Feminine Economy and Economic Man.” “The family is the primary engine of economic growth . . . (it) produces the workforce, the citizenry, the nation’s essential human capital, and it provides the workers who will be paying for our Social Security and caring for us in our old age. Parents, especially women, essentially pay the costs of raising the next generation. Non-parents get a free ride* at the expense of those who do invest in child rearing.”

That quote stuck in my mind as we raised our children. I believed in the value of family from the time I was a little girl. I had a delightful childhood, thanks to a mother who loved children and a father who took his responsibilities seriously. They were dedicated parents and hard workers, for which I am thankful.

However, as a girl child during the 60’s and 70’s, I became increasingly aware of the “women’s movement” and the backlash to traditional roles. I rejected the devaluation of motherhood, married my high school sweetheart, and we started our family within a few years. I relished my role as a mom, and my husband provided most of our income in the early years, which is how we both wanted it.

When all of our children were in school, I returned to college. I majored in business, and particularly enjoyed Economics. Then I worked in the private sector, in government, and in non-profit. I only changed jobs when my husband was transferred.

Our children are now in college. I see motherhood from a new perspective than I did when I first read Joan Beck’s article. I have an even GREATER appreciation for it now. I would like for you to have an appreciation for mothers, too.

Economics boils down to “Supply and Demand” and the balancing act between them (or tug-of-war). Economists talk about where supply comes from . . . the production of goods and services . . . manufacturing, farming, teaching, banking, entertainment. Demand comes from buyers and consumers of those goods and services. Low demand brings prices down (housing crisis, anyone?).

When we think about the economy, most of us don’t think about mothers as the foundation of BOTH supply AND demand. In the past, this was a “given” . . . but today? Women have a CHOICE. What does that choice entail . . . economically speaking?

First, the choice may require a commitment to either a marriage or a relationship and the emotional and financial investment required.

Next, a woman makes a commitment to a pregnancy. Sometimes there’s a long investment in expensive fertility efforts, other times a pregnancy may be unwanted, but a decision is made to go through with it. There’s also the burden of weight gain and the months of nausea that some suffer.

The third decision is whether to raise the baby or not (if the pregnancy was unwanted). It’s not just an 18 year commitment, it’s a lifetime! Attached to that decision is whether to stay home to care for baby, giving up some number of years in a paying job.

The estimated cost of raising one child to age 18 between $125,000 and $250,000, depending on income. Splitting the difference gives us almost $190,000, and that doesn’t include the cost of college. College costs (tuition, room & board) from $9,000 per year for public to over $30,000 per year for private.

Adding the basic costs plus the minimum college, makes raising a child cost over $200,000! Tax breaks per child don’t even START to help with those expenses.

If a woman makes the median income of $35,000 per year, has a couple of kids two years apart and stays home with them just until they are in school, she pays the opportunity cost** of sacrificing her income for about 8 years, $280,000.

The current per capita GDP is $47,400 per year. Over a working lifetime of over 40 years, that’s nearly TWO MILLION dollars to the economy by each person. Parents invest/sacrifice $200,000 or more of THEIR money (as well as, blood, sweat and tears), and the economy (society) benefits by TEN times as much. Since people usually spend most of what they make, that’s $2 million on both sides of the economic equation . . . production and consumption.

Those who choose NOT to “have a family” can spend their time and money on their own wants and needs, but they still NEED other people to raise children.

All business and their employees need “demand.” Home builders and sellers need home-owner wanna-bees. Car manufacturers need buyers. Newspapers need readers. TV shows need advertisers who need consumers.

All people need “supply.” Travelers need transportation. Drivers need road maintainers and fuel suppliers. Sick people need doctors and nurses.

And government needs income to tax.

Where do those consumers and producers come from? Mothers! The entire economy . . . the very fabric of our society . . . depends on women making the CHOICE*** to be mothers.

So . . . next time you see a mother struggling with her little ones, give her a smile and thank her for keeping the economy going! She has gifted all of us.

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* As I understand the quote, “free ride” doesn’t mean non-parents are unproductive economically, but that they aren’t paying the full price for the economically essential next generation.

** Opportunity cost is the value of the next-best choice available to someone who has picked between several mutually exclusive choices. It is a key concept in economics.

*** CHOICE in this blog entry acknowledges the fact that women have reproductive choice to use birth control or not. It is not meant to be a pro-abortion article. However, the data could almost be interpreted either way, by recognizing the financial burden that raising children imposes on women, while also defining how society needs new economically productive adults on a continual basis. As a society, we must deal with the realities of the collective pressures on women and on the economy, and few of them are easy. If we want the best for women, and ourselves, we need to understand "the factors and the vectors," i.e., what is underneath it all, what it means, and where are we headed. I hope to address some of these additional issues in future blogs.

Special thanks to my sister and cousin for giving honest feedback on my first blog. Your comments are also welcome.

Originally posted 2/5/10