The Birth Lottery

Intellectuals often speak of the birth lottery in the context of inequality.  The idea is that your station in life is largely determined by the parents to whom you are born.  The argument goes that since this assignment is random that society should seek to reduce any advantage gained that can be attributed to this lottery.

I have several problems with this idea. 

1.  Humans are not randomly assigned parents by some unseen force.
2.  For liberals this idea should seem repulsive because it implies that there is a 'you' before you were born, which of course cannot be true or the abortion argument collapses.
3.  The direct solutions are terrible; 1.  Only allow 'well off' families to reproduce or 2.  Redistribute new babies from families who are struggling to 'well off' families until they are 18 in order that any 'life handicap' has been avoided, and return them to their original parents.
4.  Many advantages/disadvantages of the 'birth lottery' stems from the free decisions of the parents.  For example, I will raise my baby without a father or mother, or I will abandon my child to be raised by his father/mother, or I will not read to my child, I will not feed my child properly, I will not move to an area with the best schools that I can afford, I will not teach my child right from wrong etc.  These are all rights which are (currently) guaranteed to us.  Of course there are some things that are very difficult to control, you may want to be married but can't find a suitable spouse, you may want and be qualified for a better job but the job market may be dismal, you may want to buy higher quality food but the bad food is more affordable, you may want to move but can't afford the costs of moving.

The best option may be, and this is probably true for any lottery, if your odds of losing are great, don't play.  But should we have to contemplate the life chances of our offspring before we have a child? Isn't that eugenics?  If the government attempts to control the prevalence of race or ethnicity, then it probably is and should be avoided.  However if it is the parents who make the choice, I say it is just smart family planning.