[reuven]

I'm actually not of the opinion that the stipend should be higher for married couples with children -- just that someone in that situation should understand that the PhD student's spouse will need to have a good, full-time job to cover expenses during the period of study.

I do think that it was immoral for the PhD program to charge a fortune for my wife and children to get health insurance, but that is a reflection of the US health-insurance system as much as anything else. And things might well have changed since I was living in Chicago.