Sell the Kids for Food

Selling adolescents to imbue returned excellence

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

The cost of raising a child in America until they leave the house (assuming that is at age 18) ranges from about $200,000 to $310,605, depending on family income.

The most expensive state to raise a child is Massachusets, with an annual cost of about $35,841. Mississippi parents get the most bang for their buck at only $16,151 per year. The average yearly cost of raising a child is about $23,000.

As of 2022, there were approximately 72.4 million children in the United States. That is a whopping $1.7 trillion dollars Americans pay every year to raise children. And there is no return on that investment.

What a waste.

It may not be possible to bring that number down to zero, but the American taxpayer deserves a better deal than to pay $1.7 trillion per year to a bunch of freeloaders with no return on investment.

The deficit of the United States was approximately $1.2 trillion in 2024. If we turn these freeloading children into an asset. We can take a big bite out of that deficit, or even eliminate it entirely.

If America does plan to invest in children, we need a better return on investment than the current zero we are getting now.

Here are some things that we can do to turn these finances around.

Steps we could take

Let’s put them to work.

The problem is - there is a lot of red tape:

• The minimum age for employment is generally 14 years old for non-agricultural jobs.

• Youth under the age of 16 may work a limited number of hours.

• Youth under the age of 18 are prohibited from being employed in hazardous occupations.

• Most states require teens aged 14-17 to get a minor work permit before employment.

• Permits verify age, require signatures from parent and employer, and restrict hours and hazardous job duties.

• Children under 14 generally cannot work, except in specific jobs like family businesses or babysitting.

• For teens aged 14 and 15, federal laws allow part-time work in non-hazardous roles, often with hour limits.

Photo by Vitolda Klein on Unsplash

How are we going to grow as a nation if we just let one-fifth of our population sit around and do nothing constructive all day? Children used to work in the coal mines. There aren’t as many mining jobs as there used to be, but there is plenty of other work that children can do. Right now, with burdensome restrictions on child labor, there are plenty of jobs that could use small hands, need people that can fit into small spaces, or other types of jobs that are not even being considered. If children were allowed to join the workforce, industries would likely arise that we have not considered before, and a whole new engine of economic growth would emerge.

Selling children

For most of America’s history selling children was legal. Then in 1903, Title 18 U.S.C. Section 2251A(a) was passed and punished those who engaged in the practice of selling children. And ever since that day, a lucrative and growing market has been off limits to Americans looking for a better life. Title 18 U.S.C. section 2251A(a) punishes any parent, legal guardian, or other person with rights of custody or control over a minor who sells or otherwise transfers control of such minor with knowledge that the minor will be used to depict sexually explicit conduct or with the intent of promoting the minor in sexually explicit conduct.

This law that was passed in 1903 was done so to protect children from sexual exploitation, which is laudable. But it chilled the market for legitimate child selling.

Some families have a surplus of children, while other families have none. Adoption in the US costs between $20,000 and $45,000, with most of that money going to a middleman (adoption agency). Why not remove that needless bureaucracy and let the market match buyers and sellers? Markets are the most efficient way to help supply meet demand, so let’s put them to work for families with a surplus of children or for families that want to maximize their assets if the market promises them a windfall for one of their children.

Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

Such a market would be regulated of course but would need to be done with a light touch as not to discourage participation in this growth engine for the American economy.

Corporations and institutional investors could provide real liquidity to this market once it is established. These market actors are always in need of young people to test their products and services. What better way to ensure their products appeal to the demographic most responsible for growth in entertainment, media and many other industries, than to bring young people in house - literally?

An answer to the skeptics.

For too long, America has failed to properly value the drag children place on American prosperity. We need to properly price children as an asset in order to squeeze the most value out of their lives.

Some skeptics of this approach may say that you can’t put a monetary value on assets such as children, air, water, or other things that are considered “common goods” that serve a higher purpose than commerce. All of these things are indeed good, but by failing to price them, we are failing to properly value them.

Children are an untapped resource that can help our economy grow. What higher purpose is there than that?