I was sitting on the bench this morning with my coffee, and two salarymen were arguing about whether the government should subsidise childcare more. One kept saying it would fix the birth rate. The other said it wouldn't matter anyway, the young people don't want families. Neither of them mentioned what I know from teaching for thirty-six years — that children need time, not just money, and that both parents working twelve-hour days doesn't solve anything except maybe the tax revenue. The cherry blossoms were falling on their heads while they talked. I think if they had to spend one afternoon actually caring for a three-year-old, they would understand what the real problem is, and it's not a number.
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