... game ... unethical ... syphoning ... sport ... "Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should" ... faux ... cash basis ... [etc]
You should be careful not to over-moralize about the choices other people are almost forced to make. In college years, the FAFSA formula can effectively add up to 47% to the marginal tax rate the parents are paying on top of other taxes, and maybe other costs of working. Someone can find themselves in a situation where they are working for practically nothing so that it's just not worth it. There may be nothing they can do to avoid that scenario. All they can do is anticipate the possibility and plan accordingly.
I agree that people should not be condemned for playing by the rules. If the rules encourage behavior that is bad for society, they should be changed. Need-based financial aid effectively raises marginal tax rates, and earlier in life, the cost of child care may result in a working mother not keeping much after taxes and expenses. However, many careers cannot easily be turned on and off, and even a partial downshifting ("mommy track") tends to lower the career trajectory. So decisions about how much to work should account for not just current but future after-tax-and-expense earnings.
Although people who look at the rules and decide that working less is optimal should not be condemned, I think there should be more appreciation (instead of demonization as 1-percenters) of high-earning dual income couples who pay a lot of taxes and full freight for their children at college.
