Family Circus: Mommy, is it too soon to outgrow these shoes?

It appears that rather than selling off one of their children as chattel, Bill and Thel have instead been forcing the kids to wear shoes that are too small for their feet. While still not ideal, it is preferable, especially considering that the child they were considering selling was PJ.*

*This is according to Billy's calculations, however, and it's possible that he was basing it on service time rather than value. Since it's unlikely the children are unionized, Bill and Thel probably would have sold whichever child would bring in the largest return. Considering he's the youngest and least vile (this is relatively speaking, of course), it still may have been PJ. Dolly and Billy could have their uses, however, to prospective child-buyers. Jeffy is, of course, worthless in every way.