I've decided there's a fine line between an Institute and an Institution.
An institute can be many things, such as the Fraser Institute, a Canadian "think tank" that produces reports like the one released Aug. 22 titled The Cost of Raising Children. That report, filed under the general heading "Poverty & Welfare," argued that contrary to most estimates that peg the cost of raising a child at between $10,000 and $15,000 per year, it actually only costs in the neighbourhood of $3,000 to $4,500 per year to provide all of the essentials for a healthy child.
An institution, on the other hand, is a place where they put crazy people.
I've never really spent much time thinking about the Fraser Institute, knowing it only as the thing that makes all of the news reporters here furious every time it sends out its rankings of the best and worst elementary schools in the province. It was a bit strange, then, to realize that the folks at the Fraser Institute had been spending a lot of time in their little tank - I picture it as a kind of big, old-timey wooden hot tub full of sleepy old men - "thinking" about me and all the other Canadian parents out there.
The Institute's report said that "it has never been easier, financially, to raise children in Canada." Phew, what a relief. Just out of curiosity I scanned the report for the grisly financial comparisons from 1978 Medicine Hat or 1922 Montreal or 1868 Upper Canada. I couldn't find any comparisons, but I'm sure they'll be out in the much anticipated sequel report (working title: I Own Vases Worth More Than Your Kids!).
The report's author, however, made a few interesting choices when deciding what costs to include in his calculations. Neither the cost of childcare nor the loss of income due to having one parent stay at home were included in the total figure. Also excluded were any increases in transportation or housing costs.
I shared the report with a few of my parent friends and they had some interesting responses.
The replies ranged from the practical: "We had to upgrade from a hatchback to a stationwagon;" to the inquisitive: "I suspect a great deal hangs on their definition of 'raise' and 'children;'" to the incisive: "Unless you're pretty relaxed about taking advantage of your parents or in-laws, I don't see how childcare is 'free' or 'cheap;'" to the slightly angry: "I could have not had a kid and lived in our one bedroom and literally had an extra three grand a month; kids are expensive and studies like this are stupid;" to the pointed: "This is far from reality. Ugh Fraser Institute;" to the natural Swiftian conclusion: "I now somewhat regret selling all my children off for medical experimentation."
The Fraser Institute's numbers drew a lot of criticism from activists and academics alike. They seemed pretty low to me too, but I thought maybe the expert researcher should get the benefit of the doubt. The day I read the report, however, I stopped by my local corner grocer and bought two peaches, one for each of my boys. The bill came to $4 (damn you organics!). Doing a little number crunching of my own, I realized that to supply my two boys each with a single peach every day for a year would cost $1,460. That right there is more than 15 per cent of the Fraser Institute's high-end estimate, nearly 25 per cent of the low-end number. Uhhhhh.
(Cue the Good Will Hunting Boston accent): "Hey Fraser, do you like peaches? Yeah? Well how do you like them peaches?" The Fraser Institute has a right-wing reputation and after all the nerdy number crunching in this report, the true colours seemed to come out in the conclusion.
The author concluded that there is a "social welfare community" that is "active in lobbying the state for more resources for families with children," an agenda that is "associated with left-liberal and social democratic positions."
Reading between the lines, the report's author seems to be giving the stink eye to any of those shady left-liberals lobbying the state for more resources for families with children. Here's where my benefit of the doubt ends. Now you're just trying to mess with my cash.
Does the Fraser Institute think that a nation of young parents is going to nod in agreement while being accused of going after more than their fair share of the state's money? Fracking operations are chugging our fresh water like camels at a drinking fountain, pipelines full of oil bound for China are being run through our backyards, banks are making billion dollar profits and we're supposed to believe that it's families and parents that need to be carefully scrutinized? Forget the Institute - someone better call up the institution. I think I'm about to lose it.
