Did you ever wonder what it would be like if we all had to personally pay for each child born out of wedlock? Let's take a for-instance. We used to live in a small condominium.

There were only twelve units in the entire building. The woman next door to us was an unwed mother. Both she and her child were very nice; but that's not the point. The point was that she was receiving money from the government to raise that child out of wedlock. We wondered what sort of society we would have if, instead of the government mailing her a check each month, the residents of the other eleven units in that building were obliged to contribute each month to the support of her child, and its brothers and sisters if those were conceived.

Let's see, she'd get us all together and tell us about her 'right' to have children - whether she's married or not, of her 'right' to secure, comfortable housing and her 'right' to nutritious food for herself and her growing child. And she would remind us of our obligation to pay for it. First she would tell us about the need for housing and medical care for the first nine months while the child is developing in her womb. That would amount to about $2,000/month for rent and food, plus about that same amount for medical care and hospitalization. This is just for the first nine months - before the child is even born.

Can you imagine being one of the eleven families in the building who would be asked to contribute to this woman and child? What do you think your questions to her might be? Do you think you would willingly accept her 'right' to have children if you were footing the bill? What if another woman in the building decided to exercise her 'right' to have several children? We know we would start questioning their 'right' to have a child on our contributions. We would start questioning the idea that children are to be supported by 'society' rather than their parents. We would start questioning where the father is and what happened to traditional family values. What would your attitude be toward this 'progressive' vision of child rearing, family values and welfare?

Well, in fact, you do support each child of an unwed mother on government assistance. It's just lumped into your tax bill every year. And not only are you supporting her, you are supporting the people who work in the agencies who administer this assistance.

The way the system is structured, it's better for a young woman to 'marry' the government than to marry a man. For example, if a young couple got married and he was just making it on $18,000 a year - which is the way alot of people start out - then they're going to have to scrimp and save and wait until they can afford to support children. However, if the woman marries the government she will be receiving benefits equal to approximately 2.5 times that guy who only makes $18,000 a year. Now, we're not saying it's not difficult to make it on less than $20,000 a year, but until the 1970's that's the way most families began and then they gained experience and got better jobs and saved and in the process became not only better wage-earners but better citizens. They realized not only what used to be called the value of the dollar, but the sense of accomplishment that comes with good work and making it yourself.

While we believe it is always good to help our neighbor in need, we think we should all take a careful look at the 'need.' Is it indeed need, or greed? To some of you greed might be a pretty harsh word, but we're all subject to its allure. Who didn't take the deductions on their income tax form, who wouldn't take the chocolate on the hotel pillow? We all like 'free' stuff and if it's on offer we'll find a way to take advantage of it. Greed will always be with us.

So we suggest that every time you hear of someone in need, think of reaching into your own wallet, because that's where government assistance really comes from anyway. The government doesn't have money of its own. It can only spend yours. And when you reach into your wallet ask yourself this: who is more careful with your money... you or the government?

Peter and Helen Evans, "http://peterandhelenevans.com. This husband and wife team - freelance writers and speakers - teach a philosophical approach to conservatism, and are scheduled speakers at Blogging Man "http://www.bloggingman.org/" . They are also real estate agents in the Washington, DC area.