Torch and pitchfork time: Madoff, Octuplet mom, and the price of greed

The other day, I wrote a piece about Nadya Suleman, California's famed "Octuplet Mom." When it went up, it was quickly hit with angry comments about greed and artificially-inseminated multiple births. Reading the responses, I got an inkling of some of the fury that these sorts of stories evoke in readers.

A few minutes later, a colleague sent me a Huffington Post article about Suleman. Apparently, the mega-mom has been receiving nasty letters and death threats. This rage seems to center around the fact that Medicaid is paying her hospital bill, food stamps are feeding her children, and welfare will probably be footing the bill for much of her brood's upkeep. The general feeling seems to be that Suleman is greedy, grabbing more than her fair share of kids, and using more than her fair share of society's resources to raise them.

As a father of one child, I can understand where some of this anger comes from. I love being a parent, and would like to have more kids; unfortunately, my wife and I afford it right now. Under these circumstances, watching Suleman create a huge brood without any apparent means of support fills me with a mixture of jealousy and anger. After all, if I can't afford to have more kids, it seems a little unfair that I should have to pick up the tab for hers.