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Conservative Push to Increase the Birth Rate Looks Doomed
American women are having fewer babies, and that's become a political issue for many conservative advocates and lawmakers -- Elon Musk called the falling birth rate "the biggest danger civilization faces."
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lamplighter
Joined 2013/04/13Visited 2024/10/11
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... Why it matters: Barring an increase in immigration, the record low birth rate threatens future economic growth " but there's little evidence that politics or public policy could meaningfully reverse the trend. Context: Fewer babies means fewer future workers and that translates into problems like labor shortages, less innovation and productivity. - - - More urgently, as the population ages -- who is going to take care of all those older folks? The big picture: This is a global phenomenon. In most wealthy countries now, birth rates are below "replacement" -- or 2.1 births per woman -- the level needed to maintain population size. ...
Context: Fewer babies means fewer future workers and that translates into problems like labor shortages, less innovation and productivity.
- - - More urgently, as the population ages -- who is going to take care of all those older folks?
The big picture: This is a global phenomenon. In most wealthy countries now, birth rates are below "replacement" -- or 2.1 births per woman -- the level needed to maintain population size. ...
#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-09-15 12:36 PM | Reply
The cost in time energy and money to have a kid is insane.
Then add on that pregnancy is a high risk activity in a country where health care costs can be prohibitive. Maternity centers are closing, strange fetal life laws make doctors at the ones still open hesitant to act and you have increasing maternal mortality rates.
A society that has become increasingly mobile and less family connected has removed a lot of the support structure that is healthy for new parents.
A general feeling of "the end is nigh" caused by a 24 hour news cycle where bad news sells, fear is a political strategy, and people are burdened by the problems of 7 billion other people leads to helplessness and despair and not the hope necessary to want to bring a life into the world.
Those are just 4 of probably dozens of reasons people are delaying or simply giving up on having children. Trying to force births or giving a tiny tax credit are bandaids on a much wider problem and until politicians are willing to really look at ALL of the issues not just their pet peeves I don't see much likelihood of improvement.
#2 | Posted by TaoWarrior at 2024-09-15 01:11 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 3
When you criminalize pregnancies and their many complications through abortion bans what else do you expect to happen?
#3 | Posted by qcp at 2024-09-16 09:24 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1
With creeps like Leon Musk around, what woman of child-bearing age wants any part of the procreative act? Asking for a gender...
#4 | Posted by catdog at 2024-09-16 09:31 AM | Reply
Good. The world is well over its sustainable carrying capacity for humans. Population decline will either happen because people stop having so many kids or from mass starvation within a few hundred years.
#5 | Posted by DarkVader at 2024-09-16 10:09 AM | Reply
Probably is a good thing to decrease the world population somewhat, resources are more scarce, increasing pollution is a major concern.
#6 | Posted by e1g1 at 2024-09-16 10:32 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1
non-millionaires and non-billionaires can scarcely afford kids anymore... the average GOP would know this if they weren't wealthy. And the poor trailer trash GOP have never been smart enough to figure out anything.
#7 | Posted by earthmuse at 2024-09-16 02:13 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1
Have they tried convincing the rich to have kids at Kennedy rates?
#9 | Posted by Tor at 2024-09-16 03:06 PM | Reply
Some say that having children is the most important thing one can do. I disagree somewhat. having children is not the most important thing one can do. having children is the only important thing one can do.
#8 | Posted by fenix at 2024-09-16 02:52 PM | Reply
You are a farking wakadoo.
There are 8 billion plus humans on this planet.
We could fix most of our environmental problems by exterminating 6.5 billion humans immediately - China, India, Africa.
Yeah, I know I'm an -------.
But I'm right.
#10 | Posted by billy_boy at 2024-09-16 08:36 PM | Reply
#8 | Posted by fenix
No educating your child is the most important thing one can do.
We have more than enough people. But a system worldwide where most people fall through the cracks and never discover their full potential.
The genius way to make more geniuses isn't to make a billion more people and hope that some of them are smart, it's to properly support all the people we have so that we can discover and encourage and profit from their genius.
#11 | Posted by SpeakSoftly at 2024-09-16 09:03 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1
So put pressure on the Leisure Class to have five kids each rather than trying to get the Working Poor to have kids.
#12 | Posted by Tor at 2024-09-16 09:24 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2
The increase of young women choosing sterilization in the Handmaid's states has got to be driving the Talibaptists crazy. The GQP went about their project backwards, first you remove education, then you remove their vote, and finally you remove their right to bodily autonomy. By doing the last thing first, they guaranteed failure.
#13 | Posted by _Gunslinger_ at 2024-09-16 10:24 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1
Virtually any case of a young person choosing sterilization is quite horrific.
#14 | Posted by Tor at 2024-09-16 10:52 PM | Reply | Funny: 1
#14 | Posted by Tor
OK. Why?
Be sure to show your work, and no imaginary sky daddies. That's just stupid.
#15 | Posted by billy_boy at 2024-09-17 09:59 PM | Reply
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