In the entire US, Montana ranks 4th in the cost to raise a child.  What say you Mr. Bullock?  

Parenthood in Montana

No mention of Montana in that Daily mail UK tabloid article.  The report is a nation-wide estimate and pretty much common knowledge.

Do you want more state govt support/hand-outs?

Not at all.  More job opportunities to start.  You agree?

This is how Montana was mentioned.  
1) Hawaii
2) New York
3) New Mexico
4) Montana
5) Alaska  


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4102508/Parents-save-Cost-raising-child-233K.html#ixzz4VJuNoZIt
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Makes that $200 snip look even better.

pretty sure it's always been costly to raise offspring in the frontier.

and it would definitely get in the way of my beer drinking, so screw that.

I think the report and interpretation of it is misleading and relative.

As one person said “Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.”

We all know that MT is a lower wage state therefore the proportion of a parents income that goes to housing and other costs is inherently higher that a high wage state. But I know for a fact that the COL on places like CA, CO, OR and WA etc. and other states are higher than in MT relatively but wages are also higher there therefore the proportion of a parents income to dedicate to kid raising is lower.

But the facts remain that raising a kid(s) is expensive unless you live simply in a depressed area and don't plan on sending your kid(s) to college.

We all want a good economy in MT, but since AG (the #1 business in MT) doesn't employee people like a major industry (such as a steel mill etc.) and MT is a huge spread-out state with spread out cities then opportunities to have a concentrate high wage industry is limited.

There just aren't the conditions to develop a CA-type Silicon Valley, a CO-type Ft.Collins-Denver-CO Springs and/or Seattle megalopolis to generate that type of a economic environment. But if that's what some want then maybe folks need to move from MT to those locations.

I just got back from some time in CO. There are TONS of people between Ft.Collins-Denver-CO Springs. Houses here that cost $200,000 cost $400-$500,000 there. COL and taxes (property, sales etc.) are really high. but you can smoke all the pot you want.  I couldn't wait to get back here. That's not the type of economic growth and social engineering I want to see in my part of MT.

Each of the major cities in MT are like islands. Each have their own unique economies. Some have had their hay-day like Butte and small town that relied on natural resource extraction but those days are over. Others like Bozeman and Billings have tangible growth economies, whereas other like Missoula, Helena and Kalispell are reliant on small business, tourism, govt., some education and/or are local medical centers. All those are not high wage growth circumstances.

IMO the state govt. should encourage small business growth through changes in business tax laws and incentives, but that's not going to change the cost of raising kids.

But I'm not in favor of Govt subsidies/tax breaks/welfare for raising more than two kids per household. There's been too many abuses of that by folks (liberal & conservative) gaming the existing Govt. subsidies/tax breaks/welfare system here & elsewhere.  If someone wants a large family that's OK but pay for it yourself vs. the taxpayer.  

And raising kids in the major States/metro areas I listed isn't cheap. Most of those areas like CA, CO and WA have more people than MT and tax the snot out of them, then subsidize day care and build fancy schools and support other activities. I'll bet this report doesn't account for that. I know folks in those areas and spend a ton of money to pay for all the bells & whistles activities for their kids, and extra school costs.

My .02

And the Dailymail.co.uk is still a tabloid much like the rags at the supermarket checkout line. Their article still doesn't explain "why" Montana is ranked 4th compared to adjacent states, with much of the same circumstances as MT, are ranked much lower.

Ha!  

There was a mandatory consultation that insurance wouldn't cover and cost $75.  The actual procedure (don't believe what they say, its fucking miserable) cost me $125 after insurance paid their part.

T.H.E. best purchase I have ever made.