I'm not even from the US, which is a more expensive country by all accounts, and that sum is still laughable from my point of view. What's that gonna get you? A few months worth of clothes and basic supplies?

Some quick googling reveals that it costs around $300k to raise a child to the age of 17 in the US, not including lost income. When people were mostly farmers, having children used to advantageous economically. Now it's the opposite.

Surely a rich country can do better.