How Will Those Teenagers Raise Their Families?

 

January 7, 2025

 

In a previous post, I wrote about the Missouri legislator who is all in favor of people being married at age 12, if they want to be. 

 

On another front, the state’s attorney general says that allowing teens to have abortions will stress the Medicaid system. 

 

Now that Missouri voters have passed a law increasing the minimum wage, lots of legislators are looking for ways to undo it. One suggestion is to only increase the wage for people 20 and over.

 

So: In Missouri we have a legislator who thinks it’s fine for people to be married at age 12; an attorney general who says that teenagers should not be allowed to terminate pregnancies because that will be a drain on Medicaid; and another legislator who wants the minimum wage hike to only apply to people 20 and over.

 

They all need to get together and start doing some math to figure out how those teenagers are going to be able to afford those families without applying for Medicaid, food stamps and other public assistance programs that are the bugbears of the conservative element of the legislature.

 

 

 

Wintry Mix-ed Signals

 

January 5, 2025

 

We’re in the middle of a snowstorm (of apparently Biblical proportions, if you listen to the news) complete with snow, sleet and ice—a wintry mix, as they call it; and the TV stations spend quite a bit of time warning people to stay off the roads.

 

In the same broadcast, they show pictures of people at the local skiing spot, and of people sledding down Art Hill in St. Louis. “Doesn’t that look fun?” they ask. “Look at all these people enjoying themselves!”

 

If I were the highway patrol, I might send a strongly-worded message to the stations: “Quit encouraging people to be out and about!” Obviously, some people didn’t need any encouragement to act foolishly; but showing them in a positive light encourages others to get out and drive for recreational purposes.

 

The patrol might add this message: “To those who drive for recreation: Enjoy yourselves. If you get in a wreck, or get stuck on the highway, we’ll be by to help you out after the roads clear.”