The Issue
Increasing reports of child abuse and neglect in Burchadinger has prompted local pressure groups to call for 'parental licences'.
The Debate
1. "You need a licence to keep eagles or drive a car," points out local current affairs commentator, Jack Broadside. "So why should just any random idiot get to be a mother or father? It just doesn't make sense! If all potential parents had to pass tests to prove they're responsible enough, I'm sure you'd find that it would help decrease the level of child abuse, and increase proper discipline in the home."
2. "This is madness!" screams Hack Mombota. "You can't deny perfectly good people the right to bring life into this world! eagles manage it easily enough, and you can't tell me they've got more responsibility than your average upstanding citizen of Burchadinger! The government should keep out of such matters - I've always said social workers and welfare was a drain on the budget. Yes, there will be some sad cases of neglect, but shouldn't we be giving parents the benefit of the doubt?"
3. "The answer to this problem is patently obvious," says Anne-Marie Dredd, your minister of Social Welfare. "The government simply needs to give more funding to the welfare department so that we can recruit more social workers to carry out regular checks on parents and judge whether or not they're doing a good job of looking after their children. It'll be expensive, but at least it's a damn sight fairer than licensing parents."
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