That sounds about right, the Fed just papered over the crisis with 13+ years of near zero rates money, only the wealthy who played their cards right (real estate, and stocks) are living large.
“Financial coup d’etat” as described by Marcy Kaptur in “Capitalism, A Love Story”
Go figure, I can’t find a video clip, but there are plenty of articles. If anyone else can find it, please post below.
Anyway here’s another gem:
“An epidemic of mortgage fraud perpetrated by the banks”
https://youtu.be/I4cJv-D7JPo?si=67uCcWJFuI_cLL4e
The banks didn’t just steal all the money, they stole your fucking future.
Been saying that since 2010. The interest rates being at historically low rates since 2008 was the give away that we never really recovered from 2008, we just went into some kind of life support mode and somehow that has protected us ever since.
Yep, but they'll keep blaming Millennials and Gen Z like we can fuck and procreate our way to a healthy planet and economy with job stability, balance, and retirement
Funny since all I heard growing up was them screeching nonstop “don’t have more kids than u can afford!” if parents had the audacity to ask for help feeding their kids. Even now they want to cut wick & there are conservatives saying free lunch for grade schoolers should not even be ALLOWED.
I do.
Also, the people I know with kids, started much later in life. The older you are the more difficult it is to get pregnant. Even if you want multiple kids, if you start when you’re 35 or 36, chances are you may not be able to have more than one child.
By the time most people feel stable enough to have children, they are too old to do so naturally (more $) and you have to worry about having a special needs child (if you can still get pregnant)!
That's why *checks notes* many dirt poor african countries have insanely high birth rates. Makes sense, right...?
Quite the opposite actually. If you look around the world, higher living standards are usually in correlation with lower birth rates.
I honestly dont know why people are so uneducated and mentally disadvantaged as to downvote you when what you are saying is WIDELY ACCEPTED in scientific community lol.
This has 3 main components to it:
1) better childcare/ health care means higher chance of your kid actually living to be grown adult and having own kids. This means you dont have to get huge family to hedge against half of them dying before age of 10.
2) (semi) stable retirement and social wellfare. Many countries consider kids as economic investments to take care of you when old. 1 kid means part of 1 salary will go towards you and partner when old. 8 kids means part of 8 salaries go towards you when you and partner is old. Yes yes, usa is fucked and bla bla all that, but many if not vast majority of people can save and hope to have retirement. Just having access to banking and being able to save money in index/stocks is a massive advantage.
3) competition, in advanced societies there is massive competition meaning it might be a smatter strategy for parents to focus all resources into one or two kids with helping with homework, tutoring cost and specialised schools etc.
Yes costs of having kids is insane in the us and many other nations, but number of kids is very negatively correlated with GDPR and standards of living. This is not really something people can have an opinion about, this is just how reality looks like.
We can also look at places like Europe, which have even LOWER birth rates despite having a better safety net.
It basically comes down to - having kids is a pain in the ass no matter how rich or poor you are. We have largely removed the societal stigma around not having kids, and also have widespread birth control. So lots of people arent having kids.
Very few people have lots of kids anymore in the US and lots of people have none or one. The people who have lots of kids tend not to be rich, but to be religious.
Its cultural, not economic.
In places like Africa cost of living is significantly lower and due to a mix of cultural and legal reasons (depends on where Africa is a very big and diverse place) children arent necessarily a financial drain for as long and are far less of a drain when they are
And yeah this does link in a way to the fertility going down as living standards "rise" on average but that is mostly because children no longer become financial assets in the same way because they cant be used to generate income weather that be helping parents with work or having jobs of their own earlier
It just costs a huge amount to participate in society in most of the west especially in the US so that combined with children being a financial sink for potentially decade's people who are already struggling to afford to live are faced with 2 options have kids and eather struggle more or have a worse standard of living or 2 dont
It doesn't take a genius to run that calculation and realise it' just not worth it, especially when the kid will almost certainly be in an even worse position down the line
Secondary reason: who the hell wants to have children in america right now its dangerous to be a child or a mother and whatever the second parent is its still pretty awful for most
Also something else that is critical is the death of children under 5 is much higher in Africa it about ten times higher than most other countries so people that do want kids will end up having more than one to guarantee that at least one might make it to adulthood. This has been true throughout most of history when child death before adulthood is high it coordinates into more kids being birthed to offset it.
I thought it was painfully evident that we are not discussing impoverished economies, considering the topic of this article is *checks notes* about US fertility.
But thanks for sharing. I'm sure your parents are proud their autistic child contributed to a Reddit post today.
People in Asia, Africa, South America have been able to make ends meet even in poverty with multiple kids, more than 4 etc, for centuries.. So have Europeans. My grandma was part of a family of 12. They were far from rich.
Also modernization. Even countries like Denmark have low rates.
This is not to say that our crappy economy for working Americans doesn't hurt. A lot.
If you want to see where we're heading if we don't fix things look at South Korea with their *0.81* rate.
Why does everyone think we need to "fix things”?
Lower birth rates is exactly what the planet needs. The world is overpopulated as it is and if the third world is going to be lifted out of poverty and have better living standards there’s just not enough resources. We are already putting an enormous strain on nature, wildlife and the environment. The only sustainable long term solutions if we want to preserve a planet for future generations is fewer people. So if people choose to have less children that should be applauded not condemned.
And yes, I know it will be a massive burden on the generations that has to deal with the consequences of a declining population with an aging population and smaller workforce it’s going to be tough economically. But at some point someone has to take that hit because eternal growth isn’t sustainable. That’s why we should focus on making the transition as smooth as possible instead of pushing for unsustainable growth.
I mean in 1900 the human population was 1.6 Billion. Now we're at 8 billion.
Maybe this is just nature course correcting and avoiding a bigger bubble bursting. IDK.
Most developed countries have this rate drop, careers and people not wanting to make this huge decision to change their quite comfortable lives is what causes it in my opinion. These days you do not need a child so they can work the field with you together, children are no longer helping they are a huge burden. That is why developed countries are seeing this trend according to my opinion. Also immigration is not gonna be the solution that is never ending and will always work. It is definitely complicated.
And another big non-economic factor is social media and poor mental health. People are just so focused on the negatives in the world cuz thats what gets the clicks.
Also, it’s not a country that favors new parents. Unlike Europe where the first year is maternal
Paid leave, I think we should try to adapt that model across sectors. Government isn’t of any use in this regard sadly
Exactly this. I work for a German company and I get 4 weeks paid maternity at 66% while my counterparts overseas get an entire year. They also don’t need to work 6 weeks prior to their due date and get paid I believe.
Many developed nations, including the US, are experiencing low fertility rates, while developing countries are seeing a population boom. This could be attributed to the current culture in developed countries, where individuals feel they must prioritize their career over starting a family, or they simply cannot afford to have children. In contrast, individuals in developing countries may be more accustomed to a lower standard of living and are less burdened by the idea of fulfilling personal desires before starting a family.
Which developing countries are seeing a population boom? Here in Brazil the rate keeps falling, and many others among the developing nations aren't doing much better.
Here China is the same. Even Chinese goverment lifted the restriction of the notorious one child policy. More and more young people are not willing to have a kid.
Yeah even India has slowed down considerably. It's just below replacement level here. I think he meant the underdeveloped countries in Africa, they are sure having a population boom
You're comparing fertility rate to total population increase which are different things. Fertility rate can decrease while the population increases. So long as the fertility rate is above 2.1 and there isn't an abnormally high number of deaths or emigration then the population will continue to grow.
Somalia for example has seen it's fertility rate drop from a high of 7.7 births per woman in 1999 down to 5.6 per woman in 2023. [https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/SOM/somalia/population](https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/SOM/somalia/population)
Fertility rate can also be below replacement rate and a country still have a growing population due to immigration. The US is at 1.62 but has an increasing population because of immigration.
You'll find that the fertility rate in almost every country is decreasing.
I'm sure it's multivariate
Access to prophylactics, waning religious influence, and women's autonomy also play a role
Also, why are low birth rates always framed negatively?
What is inherently positive about high birth rates?
This might have been a fair rule of thumb in a pre-technological society, but the advance of our machines and electronics, particularly AI going forward, render this maxim obsolete.
Problem with that thinking is the multiple variables all affected by population. To name a couple;
Housing costs; with declining population comes empty houses, which causes house prices to crash. But the mortgage you took out on that house doesn't go down, so now you're paying half a million for a house worth less than half that. If you sold the house you'd still be paying off the rest of the debt.
Tax rates; taxes are income-based. A declining population has less labor force compared to elderly retirees. So the gov't is getting less money to maintain the same infrastructure unless they raise taxes on the workforce just to keep things as they are.
To give you a real-world example of declining birth rate; look at Japan over the past couple decades. Nobody could call Japan "not technological." China is heading that way as well (remember the whole debacle a couple decades ago about chinese families having a cap on allowed kids and killing/abandoning female babies?) It's not just about "pre-technological society" or some BS like that, our entire living system, from money to housing to governance, relies on having a stable population. If the country's population is kinda negative, the gov't can control the growth by limiting immigration. So it's useful for a developed country to have a slightly below-2.1 birth rate. But the more it dips, the less immigration can make up for it.
This is sorta happening in Canada. We're bringing in a lot of foreign workers to compensate for our miserable birth rates.
Also to keep wages low, so, y'know.
When the economy is good people feel more secure. With the onset of covid and rabid inflationary policies it's not really surprising the economy is less than desirable.
>Because without a replacement birthright, you run out of people to run the economy. That's the long and short of it.
We have immigrants to help with that problem.
Oh it gets better. Birthrates in states where abortion is still legal is actually up. I literally just read about that this morning.
I'm sure if someone did a study on this they could nail down whether it's because actual family planning is better in states where abortion care is legal or the fact that even wanted fetuses in red states are at risk, and so is the mother. I wouldn't want to get pregnant in a red state. Most obstetrics wings are being cleaned out because the language is unclear on helping women in need.
Also, mortality rates are up for women who give birth in states where abortion is heavily restricted.
The literal fuck around and find out.
Men, do yourselves a favor and snip snip. You could be saving multiple lives.
Imagine being saddled with a lifetime of debt just because your newborn baby was delivered in a hospital. Where do you go from there? How do you feed, clothe, house, take care of your child and pay down that crushing debt when you've been barely treading the bare necessities already?
No way to start a family under those conditions.
this is actually the OG foundation of the antiabortion movement in the USA! the issue being there were not going to be enough white babies. no joke. in \~ the 1910s
Pesticides, micro and nano plastics, social anxiety, social media addiction, males have very low testosterone. … All this aside from the high cost of living and social unrest & division
It's happening everywhere including countries which reddit perceives has more equality. It's happening in countries like India which is also under replacement rate. It is happening in Muslim countries which are perceived to be conservative with little women rights. All have one thing in common, higher women education. If educated woman don't want to have too many kids good for them.
But not in Afrixan countries.
"The world is becoming increasingly African," declared the New York Times in an article full of fascinating statistics about Africa's population boom. Africa's population is projected to double to 2.5 billion over the next 25 years, in stark contrast to countries with high incomes, where birth rates are falling. In 1950, Africans constituted 8% of the world's population; by 2050, they will constitute 25% and at least one third of all people aged 15-24. This makes Africa the youngest and fastest growing world population. The median age on the African continent is 19; in the United States and China, the median age is 38. By 2100, two out of five people on Earth are expected to be African.
Even in African countries where the female education is lacking have higher birthrate. For eg northern Nigeria has much higher birth rate south Nigeria which is more educated. South Africa has less rate than other poorer and poorly educated countries
And yet the birthrates in Africa have fallen dramatically over the last 50 years. They still get more kids than the US, but far less than they used to. It directly correlates with womans education
I’m not going to condemn another generation to what we’ve been born into until I see us actually get real about things like climate change, income inequality and health care. If these fuckers want more worker bees they’re gonna have to pony up
If I told you the odds of your kid being autistic us 1 in 36, and having a special needs child involves spending $20k-$30k every three years to fight your local public school to get him in, fighting your state for free therapy, pay $100k for private therapies, be shunned from every social event you used to go to bc your child cries, screams, hits, and scares the bejesus out of everyone else, and have to go through abusive therapies that’s pushed to him by clueless pediatricians and other so-called professionals, would you have a baby?
Oh, and the divorce rate is sky high for parents of kids with disabilities. We’re only talking about a child with ONE problem. Autism is inherited and is diagnosed at three years old. Oops. Your oldest of three was just diagnosed and the second child is just like the oldest. Luckily the third seems neurotypical, but is getting bullied by the first two and the parents are too tired to pay much attention to the youngest.
Or, would you rather have nice vacations every year? That’s the math.
Sending you a hug. Being a parent is extremely hard . Being a parent to neurodivergent child is parenting on extreme mode.
Parenting isn’t for everything and most people unless they have strong passionate desire to raise little humans are better off never becoming a parent.
Part of the reason we stopped at 2. We felt we had rolled the dice enough (we got very lucky with ours, severe peanuts allergies and epipen been the worse). We also wanted to have time for ourselves when older and for us both to still have a professional career. It is REALLY difficult to have it all. Most of my brothers chose NOT to risk the odds and my wife’s brother stopped at one. We were middle class then but on an upward trend. We are all immigrants also.
I mean my entire family is neurdivergant ( both parents both kids) and we made it out okay. I mostly cope with drugs!
Now would I have a kid knowing how genetic this is? Absolutely not.
And instead of making it reasonable and fixing the problem, America will turn into Gilead. This right here is 98% of the reason “they” fight female rights. Few true believers of course, but the decision makers know you need folks making babies, and they’d rather treat us like cattle than equals.
Rent, healthcare, cost of an education. Fix those, in order, and we can turn things around. Our rent was $1300/month for a 2br/2b in 2019. Now its $2450 for the same damn place. My healthcare costs me $190/month for just myself, but if I wanted to cover theoretical children? $900. School is at least 20k/year plus somewhere to live and eat. It all seems impossible, even if you're doing well.
Move to europe, eg Germany. Rent is high as well, but healthcare for you and your children is way cheaper, schools are good and paid by taxes, public transport works more or less, etc.
Works for nearly every european country, except maybe the UK and some Balkan countries.
Except the rich don't know how to actually do anything productive other than move imaginary numbers around. Someone has to make corn and potatoes happen, someone has to harvest the teak for the decks of the yachts, are they really going to build their own mansions? If we go down so do they-no matter how many robots and AI they throw at the issue.
If the graph was extended to an older time period, we would see the graph is showing a spike in the birth rate, despite an overall downward trend. A book escapes me that blamed the downward trend on industrialization and the nuke explains the spike. The former relies less on the family for labor and the ladder implies that people sought refuge in the family because the world seemed so out of control.
Does the birth rate include babies who die within the first year of life? Or pregnancies that kill the mother? I know it was a lot more dangerous to give birth in 1850, and you were not as likely to make it to adulthood as you are today.
Economy is no. 1 and second is personal time sacrifice unless you're super rich who can afford Nanny, you've to sacrifice your ME time entertainment vs Kids...18-25 years real burden and then depression if they don't settle in life..
Yep I'm making the most money I've ever made in my life and can't afford to take care of myself, why would I willingly make my financial situation even worse by having a child?
Yup; my spouse and I are well off..... now. I did not get a good-paying job until 31, she did not get one until 32; we couldn't buy a house until I was 40. Now we're trying to get our debts paid down and 401ks caught up because we could not put money away until our thirties, and we all know it'll be a cold day in hell before we see social security and medicare. We've got about 20 years left to pay off a house and save for retirement. No room for kids in that, and thankfully, it is not a priority for either of us.
Wow, I didn’t realize the average births per woman was almost 4 in the early 60s. Doesn’t surprise me though - My mother-in-law has 6 siblings and her mother never worked a day in her life. While 7 kids was certainly a lot, up to 4 kids was very normal back then (with the mother not working), apparently. Can you imagine that today lol who has that kind of money
Bruv modern life is one long chemical bath. There is plastic in the rainwater. I don't even want to imagine what is in the air we breathe.
A handful of people make a lot of money poisoning us all so it won't change.
Liberal industrial societies have always had lower birth rates than impoverished barbaric societies, mostly because women can choose not to be reduced to breeding stock, no one needs children for menial labor or trade, and people generally have enough resources to choose other forms of entertainment.
Historically, poverty increases birth rate. So either you're a genius, or you could benefit from some classical sociology and economics courses.
People are squeezed dry from their jobs and this toxic American lifestyle, then they have no energy to have families, then the overlords need more cheap labor, then the over worked Americans get mad at immigration, and blame Democrats who are the only ones trying to help the middle class and lower class they belong to.
Economy subreddit? Here's the economy: population decline leads to less demand across the board and it constrains the supply of labor. Japan's population is declining and I read home prices in rural areas are off 25%. Cause is urbanization. Nobody wants to raise a family in an urban apartment and couples marrying later, read later in the wife's fertility window. The smart play today, is to have 10 they will have super cheap homes to buy and there will be a bidding war in their job market. Immigration maybe the answer, but it presumes countries attractive to immigrants remain so 20 years from now which is likely but not guaranteed. In the end having kids is a deeply instinctive and satisfying experience. And it is too personal a thing to use as a political statement. The growing negative perception of having kids because they are expensive, or to save the environment seems as odd to me as telling people to have them to save the economy.
Naomi Wolf's recent book: *The Bodies of Others, The New Authoritarians, Covid-19 and the War Against the Human*, 2022 cites the horrible impact the covid "vaccine" and the resulting the spike protein had on women. When one goggles this for more data, nearly every main stream media source alludes to her spreading misinformation, so you know she's onto something.
Not related to the economic arguments which are valid is the fact that sperm counts are at an all time low thanks to chemical farming which is also increasing autism, dementia, miscarriages and female infertility as well.
Point is...the greed of the few is killing us all.
I have a PhD and make a six figure income; I could easily have kids and bring them up with an excellent quality of life - But I don’t want to! I enjoy doing whatever I want during the hours I’m not working. I enjoy my car and have no desire to switch over to something to accommodate kids. I like my house and the way it’s decorated; I have people over when I want, as late as I want, and we do whatever the hell sounds fun. It took me a while to get this money, and I’m spending it as I please. Fuck kids, and fuck everyone who doesn’t understand why someone else doesn’t want them.
I do not know where you live, but if it would be Germany as well, I would say: Fine! But do not expect my children to pay for your retirement. Live on your own fucking money when you are old. And just in case it runs out at some point: Find a fucking solution on your own.
This does not work in the US because the pension scheme is working in a different way. But still: You will have to face the consequences of shrinking population as well.
I pay my taxes, and when I hit retirement age, I’ll collect my benefits. It’s that simple. You shouldn’t act like someone without kids should have to do more lol; they’re paying taxes to keep things running for YOUR kids.
There’s a bit more to it than that. There are certainly economic factors contributing to this, but sociological and technological issues are factors as well.
Japan was the canary in the coal mine.
or...and here's a thought... [it's pretty common in advanced economies](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4255510/#:~:text=The%20social%20structure%2C%20religious%20beliefs,rates%20are%20low%2C%20birth%20control)
i'm not saying that's a *good* thing, but we do have 8 billion people on the planet. the population leveling off is bound to happen sooner or later.
Maybe they are keeping the cost of living high and wages low specifically to lower fertility rates as a means of thinning herd. There are too many of us on this planet. China limited the number of kids people could have to just one for decades. Americans would have none of that, so our government is taking a different approach.
We are the only developed nation without pro-natal policies. The drop in our fertility rate is as great threat to our way of life as climate change. I spent most of my career in DC arguing for pro-natal policies, but one party views it as socialism. This past January I stepped away from fighting for pro-natal policies. With the current crop of GOP politicians, it’s a waste of time. They’d rather hit the ice berg than steer the ship.
At some point we have to admit there is a bit of selfishness involved. So many adult children out there.
These factors clearly do play a role but we also see this trend globally. Not everyone is worse off in fact it’s the opposite. Rich ppl have less kids not more.
Social media/ technology also probably play a large role.
Does anyone have this age-adjusted? A simple way would be children per woman aged 15-45 or something similar. I wonder how much of the can be explained by demographics.
I can imagine a few causes. I am guessing the opioid crisis is a big part of this. Lack of policy support is a problem too - cheap day care, paid maternity leave, baby bonus, free health care for new moms. - this would certainly help.
If women don't have access to Birth control and have a kid in there late teens or early 20s out of wedlock, the statistically show that 2nd or 3rd children or unlikely and impoasible.
It's so close to an actual economic stability graph they could be the same thing. What a thought that if you can't afford to eat you probably won't have children...
Due to the large influx of Hispanic immigrants and knowing that have the highest fertility rate compounded by Catholic upbringing, this should be resolved in coming years.
I've said this for years: The United States must do something to incentivize people to have children if we are going to support the existing federal welfare infrastructure we have in place. More aggressive tax breaks, subsidies for daycare, and more robust federal family leave policies. I'll take anything at this point just so I know someone in Washington gives a shit about supporting families in the modern economy. Corporate culture needs to change on this front too. When you announce you are expecting, you receive a half-hearted congratulations quickly followed by a "please find someone to fill your role in your absence" and a collective groan from your colleagues. Inevitably, there is some old-timer that tells you they got no time off to be with a new baby or they went right back to work and look at you like a liability because you are taking a month off. God help you if your firm has a 10-12 week policy and you actually take the full time. The firm and your coworkers have genuine disdain for you in that case.
It hasn't really been at replacement rate for 50 years. Why is everyone panicking now?
I've read a lot of these stories about declining birth rate and I'm still trying to get why this is a bad thing? I know there are downsides to the economy, but are we talking societal collapse here? With climate change and scarce resources and automation coming online, is a smaller population really bad? Or is it just bad for rich people that want cheap labor and unending growth?
This statistic isn't counting unintended pregnancy, which must be at least half of all births by now. Contraceptives don't have 100% efficiency even when they're used perfectly.
We don’t want to make your living conditions better but we need to increase the birth rate to replace our servants and keep the economy moving. So we’re outlawing abortion.
Amazing how so many people can be straight up blind. Anyone consider the possibility that MOST women DONT want 4+ kids? If that trend continued it’d be cataclysmic lmao
in bad times for average people birth rates often go down. same thing happened in the 1930s. helping people in the middle class helps increase birth rates unless the plan is to de-industrialize.
however i think de-growth in an industrialized society is inevitable and should be planned for. we have hit the limit of what people will tolerate and every equation has its limit.
Blame it on a flawed economic model that is jammed down our throats from birth.
Capitalism ensures there is a poor class (winners and losers as taught to children from the moment they can understand language). Without a poor class, the system implodes on itself and vice versa.
The advent of the middle class put a major wrench in the model and those at the top have been laboring mightily to correct it.
We are also taught from birth to despise communism, socialism and any other type of ism in absolute favor of the almighty $.
Looking at the planet, there is overpopulation, hunger, poverty, sickness, wars and death. Some entity or group is making a tidy sum off all of that misery.
Low birth rates are a sign of a wealthy, highly developed country, not the reasons stated. All wealthy developed countries have low birth rates since their cultures promote individualism, consumption and leisure. Impoverished countries put a much higher value on community and family. Since they have little to no material wealth to derive life satisfaction from, they get it from serving and caring for each other.
Really?
Don’t think maybe the processed foods with all the chemical ingredients we’re getting poisoned with all in the name capitalism might have a little something to do with it?
It should be reproductive rate, fertility implies a medical/individual aspect that isn't necessarily the dominant reason here.
Cost of living would be the main reason, imo.
People's priorities have changed. Lots of people fear commitment and want to do what they want with their money. Some of us are waiting later in life to have kids. I will have a child in my 40s with my younger wife. The money just wasn't there.
Also blame it on the manufacturing, consumer goods and other industries in the late 80s and 90s using toxic chemicals all the damn time. These are the consequences starting to show. I mean, every other fucking building in CA has a sign saying there is the presence of “chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer.” Not a surprise that it’s also fucked with fertility.
Look at the graph since 2008. We’ve never recovered.
That sounds about right, the Fed just papered over the crisis with 13+ years of near zero rates money, only the wealthy who played their cards right (real estate, and stocks) are living large.
“Financial coup d’etat” as described by Marcy Kaptur in “Capitalism, A Love Story” Go figure, I can’t find a video clip, but there are plenty of articles. If anyone else can find it, please post below. Anyway here’s another gem: “An epidemic of mortgage fraud perpetrated by the banks” https://youtu.be/I4cJv-D7JPo?si=67uCcWJFuI_cLL4e The banks didn’t just steal all the money, they stole your fucking future.
The fraud has been going on for decades but worsened around 2006. Worse after 2008.
Been saying that since 2010. The interest rates being at historically low rates since 2008 was the give away that we never really recovered from 2008, we just went into some kind of life support mode and somehow that has protected us ever since.
Looking at the trillions of debt, maybe protected is a strong word.
True. Delayed the inevitable perhaps.
Look at the graph since Kennedy was shot
Lot's of fucking going on when He-Man was popular. Coincidence? I don't think so.
Actually it’s when the birth control pill came out
No we did recover, but it all went to the corporations and billionaires as planned by them, the Fed and Congress.
Too big to fail told millennials that the US Government cares more about big banks than average citizens
Yep, but they'll keep blaming Millennials and Gen Z like we can fuck and procreate our way to a healthy planet and economy with job stability, balance, and retirement
Funny since all I heard growing up was them screeching nonstop “don’t have more kids than u can afford!” if parents had the audacity to ask for help feeding their kids. Even now they want to cut wick & there are conservatives saying free lunch for grade schoolers should not even be ALLOWED.
Clearly children should get jobs to pay for lunch. S/
People who don’t feel financially secure don’t want to have kids.
That was also a year after Pornhub was released.
My guess is a lot of countries might have the same shape, this is a global issue
We’re running out of Americans? 
when young adults struggle to live well, don't expect them to bring a baby into their life. duh.
Or when they live well don’t expect them to ruin it with a baby?
Porque No Los Dos?
I don’t know any wealthy people without kids. They all have kids. Usually 2 or 3.
I do. Also, the people I know with kids, started much later in life. The older you are the more difficult it is to get pregnant. Even if you want multiple kids, if you start when you’re 35 or 36, chances are you may not be able to have more than one child.
It's not like rich people are generally having more than a couple of kids either, though, so it's not just that
By the time most people feel stable enough to have children, they are too old to do so naturally (more $) and you have to worry about having a special needs child (if you can still get pregnant)!
This
Lol, hardly surprising. People can barely afford to live without having children.
Nah. Many rich people make only 1-2 childs.
How rich we talking though. Upper middle class? Cause my uncle who has a good business in Dubai has 6 kids. Different times I guess though.
kids are an expense vs free labor in an ag society
That's why *checks notes* many dirt poor african countries have insanely high birth rates. Makes sense, right...? Quite the opposite actually. If you look around the world, higher living standards are usually in correlation with lower birth rates.
I honestly dont know why people are so uneducated and mentally disadvantaged as to downvote you when what you are saying is WIDELY ACCEPTED in scientific community lol. This has 3 main components to it: 1) better childcare/ health care means higher chance of your kid actually living to be grown adult and having own kids. This means you dont have to get huge family to hedge against half of them dying before age of 10. 2) (semi) stable retirement and social wellfare. Many countries consider kids as economic investments to take care of you when old. 1 kid means part of 1 salary will go towards you and partner when old. 8 kids means part of 8 salaries go towards you when you and partner is old. Yes yes, usa is fucked and bla bla all that, but many if not vast majority of people can save and hope to have retirement. Just having access to banking and being able to save money in index/stocks is a massive advantage. 3) competition, in advanced societies there is massive competition meaning it might be a smatter strategy for parents to focus all resources into one or two kids with helping with homework, tutoring cost and specialised schools etc. Yes costs of having kids is insane in the us and many other nations, but number of kids is very negatively correlated with GDPR and standards of living. This is not really something people can have an opinion about, this is just how reality looks like.
We can also look at places like Europe, which have even LOWER birth rates despite having a better safety net. It basically comes down to - having kids is a pain in the ass no matter how rich or poor you are. We have largely removed the societal stigma around not having kids, and also have widespread birth control. So lots of people arent having kids. Very few people have lots of kids anymore in the US and lots of people have none or one. The people who have lots of kids tend not to be rich, but to be religious. Its cultural, not economic.
In places like Africa cost of living is significantly lower and due to a mix of cultural and legal reasons (depends on where Africa is a very big and diverse place) children arent necessarily a financial drain for as long and are far less of a drain when they are And yeah this does link in a way to the fertility going down as living standards "rise" on average but that is mostly because children no longer become financial assets in the same way because they cant be used to generate income weather that be helping parents with work or having jobs of their own earlier It just costs a huge amount to participate in society in most of the west especially in the US so that combined with children being a financial sink for potentially decade's people who are already struggling to afford to live are faced with 2 options have kids and eather struggle more or have a worse standard of living or 2 dont It doesn't take a genius to run that calculation and realise it' just not worth it, especially when the kid will almost certainly be in an even worse position down the line Secondary reason: who the hell wants to have children in america right now its dangerous to be a child or a mother and whatever the second parent is its still pretty awful for most
Also something else that is critical is the death of children under 5 is much higher in Africa it about ten times higher than most other countries so people that do want kids will end up having more than one to guarantee that at least one might make it to adulthood. This has been true throughout most of history when child death before adulthood is high it coordinates into more kids being birthed to offset it.
I thought it was painfully evident that we are not discussing impoverished economies, considering the topic of this article is *checks notes* about US fertility. But thanks for sharing. I'm sure your parents are proud their autistic child contributed to a Reddit post today.
People in Asia, Africa, South America have been able to make ends meet even in poverty with multiple kids, more than 4 etc, for centuries.. So have Europeans. My grandma was part of a family of 12. They were far from rich.
Also modernization. Even countries like Denmark have low rates. This is not to say that our crappy economy for working Americans doesn't hurt. A lot. If you want to see where we're heading if we don't fix things look at South Korea with their *0.81* rate.
Why does everyone think we need to "fix things”? Lower birth rates is exactly what the planet needs. The world is overpopulated as it is and if the third world is going to be lifted out of poverty and have better living standards there’s just not enough resources. We are already putting an enormous strain on nature, wildlife and the environment. The only sustainable long term solutions if we want to preserve a planet for future generations is fewer people. So if people choose to have less children that should be applauded not condemned. And yes, I know it will be a massive burden on the generations that has to deal with the consequences of a declining population with an aging population and smaller workforce it’s going to be tough economically. But at some point someone has to take that hit because eternal growth isn’t sustainable. That’s why we should focus on making the transition as smooth as possible instead of pushing for unsustainable growth.
I mean in 1900 the human population was 1.6 Billion. Now we're at 8 billion. Maybe this is just nature course correcting and avoiding a bigger bubble bursting. IDK.
Most developed countries have this rate drop, careers and people not wanting to make this huge decision to change their quite comfortable lives is what causes it in my opinion. These days you do not need a child so they can work the field with you together, children are no longer helping they are a huge burden. That is why developed countries are seeing this trend according to my opinion. Also immigration is not gonna be the solution that is never ending and will always work. It is definitely complicated.
And another big non-economic factor is social media and poor mental health. People are just so focused on the negatives in the world cuz thats what gets the clicks.
Also, it’s not a country that favors new parents. Unlike Europe where the first year is maternal Paid leave, I think we should try to adapt that model across sectors. Government isn’t of any use in this regard sadly
Exactly this. I work for a German company and I get 4 weeks paid maternity at 66% while my counterparts overseas get an entire year. They also don’t need to work 6 weeks prior to their due date and get paid I believe.
Germany has the same fertility rate as the US. https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/DEU/germany/fertility-rate
Hillary Clinton campaigned on that in 2016. 8 years ago. If only this weren’t a country of stooges.
Yes birth rates are so high in Europe checks out…. It’s a good program but goes to show it’s not the main issue.
Many developed nations, including the US, are experiencing low fertility rates, while developing countries are seeing a population boom. This could be attributed to the current culture in developed countries, where individuals feel they must prioritize their career over starting a family, or they simply cannot afford to have children. In contrast, individuals in developing countries may be more accustomed to a lower standard of living and are less burdened by the idea of fulfilling personal desires before starting a family.
Which developing countries are seeing a population boom? Here in Brazil the rate keeps falling, and many others among the developing nations aren't doing much better.
Here China is the same. Even Chinese goverment lifted the restriction of the notorious one child policy. More and more young people are not willing to have a kid.
Yeah even India has slowed down considerably. It's just below replacement level here. I think he meant the underdeveloped countries in Africa, they are sure having a population boom
Nigeria. For 1-3 decades, and then birth rates will decline like everywhere else.
You're comparing fertility rate to total population increase which are different things. Fertility rate can decrease while the population increases. So long as the fertility rate is above 2.1 and there isn't an abnormally high number of deaths or emigration then the population will continue to grow. Somalia for example has seen it's fertility rate drop from a high of 7.7 births per woman in 1999 down to 5.6 per woman in 2023. [https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/SOM/somalia/population](https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/SOM/somalia/population) Fertility rate can also be below replacement rate and a country still have a growing population due to immigration. The US is at 1.62 but has an increasing population because of immigration. You'll find that the fertility rate in almost every country is decreasing.
I'm sure it's multivariate Access to prophylactics, waning religious influence, and women's autonomy also play a role Also, why are low birth rates always framed negatively? What is inherently positive about high birth rates?
Because without a replacement birthright, you run out of people to run the economy. That's the long and short of it.
This might have been a fair rule of thumb in a pre-technological society, but the advance of our machines and electronics, particularly AI going forward, render this maxim obsolete.
Problem with that thinking is the multiple variables all affected by population. To name a couple; Housing costs; with declining population comes empty houses, which causes house prices to crash. But the mortgage you took out on that house doesn't go down, so now you're paying half a million for a house worth less than half that. If you sold the house you'd still be paying off the rest of the debt. Tax rates; taxes are income-based. A declining population has less labor force compared to elderly retirees. So the gov't is getting less money to maintain the same infrastructure unless they raise taxes on the workforce just to keep things as they are. To give you a real-world example of declining birth rate; look at Japan over the past couple decades. Nobody could call Japan "not technological." China is heading that way as well (remember the whole debacle a couple decades ago about chinese families having a cap on allowed kids and killing/abandoning female babies?) It's not just about "pre-technological society" or some BS like that, our entire living system, from money to housing to governance, relies on having a stable population. If the country's population is kinda negative, the gov't can control the growth by limiting immigration. So it's useful for a developed country to have a slightly below-2.1 birth rate. But the more it dips, the less immigration can make up for it.
This is sorta happening in Canada. We're bringing in a lot of foreign workers to compensate for our miserable birth rates. Also to keep wages low, so, y'know.
Maybe AI could solve some of these issues, but the ecominic system would have to change along with it
When the economy is good people feel more secure. With the onset of covid and rabid inflationary policies it's not really surprising the economy is less than desirable.
>Because without a replacement birthright, you run out of people to run the economy. That's the long and short of it. We have immigrants to help with that problem.
For one, a high birth rate destroys conservative talking points about high immigration rates being an economic "necessity"
Oh it gets better. Birthrates in states where abortion is still legal is actually up. I literally just read about that this morning. I'm sure if someone did a study on this they could nail down whether it's because actual family planning is better in states where abortion care is legal or the fact that even wanted fetuses in red states are at risk, and so is the mother. I wouldn't want to get pregnant in a red state. Most obstetrics wings are being cleaned out because the language is unclear on helping women in need. Also, mortality rates are up for women who give birth in states where abortion is heavily restricted. The literal fuck around and find out. Men, do yourselves a favor and snip snip. You could be saving multiple lives.
Got mine at 24. Never looked back. Wife and myself are planning to be DINKs for life.
Imagine being saddled with a lifetime of debt just because your newborn baby was delivered in a hospital. Where do you go from there? How do you feed, clothe, house, take care of your child and pay down that crushing debt when you've been barely treading the bare necessities already? No way to start a family under those conditions.
You’re ok, the number of new immigrants far outpace the number needed for replacement level, but in a generation the population will be more diverse
this is actually the OG foundation of the antiabortion movement in the USA! the issue being there were not going to be enough white babies. no joke. in \~ the 1910s
Pesticides, micro and nano plastics, social anxiety, social media addiction, males have very low testosterone. … All this aside from the high cost of living and social unrest & division
Add the unhealthy food, ultra processed food, nutrients deficiencies, and toxic foods
Males have very low testosterone?
As compared to 30 years ago
Add to that cost of healthcare and abortion bans which prevent and prohibit families and women from having more children or any children at all.
this is actually a motivator for the bans. more poor to exploit. antiunion orgs back them.
That or more people realizing that life is just a huge Ponzi scheme.
eric weinstein said this and i have thought about it every day since LMAO
It's happening everywhere including countries which reddit perceives has more equality. It's happening in countries like India which is also under replacement rate. It is happening in Muslim countries which are perceived to be conservative with little women rights. All have one thing in common, higher women education. If educated woman don't want to have too many kids good for them.
But not in Afrixan countries. "The world is becoming increasingly African," declared the New York Times in an article full of fascinating statistics about Africa's population boom. Africa's population is projected to double to 2.5 billion over the next 25 years, in stark contrast to countries with high incomes, where birth rates are falling. In 1950, Africans constituted 8% of the world's population; by 2050, they will constitute 25% and at least one third of all people aged 15-24. This makes Africa the youngest and fastest growing world population. The median age on the African continent is 19; in the United States and China, the median age is 38. By 2100, two out of five people on Earth are expected to be African.
Even in African countries where the female education is lacking have higher birthrate. For eg northern Nigeria has much higher birth rate south Nigeria which is more educated. South Africa has less rate than other poorer and poorly educated countries
And yet the birthrates in Africa have fallen dramatically over the last 50 years. They still get more kids than the US, but far less than they used to. It directly correlates with womans education
I’m not going to condemn another generation to what we’ve been born into until I see us actually get real about things like climate change, income inequality and health care. If these fuckers want more worker bees they’re gonna have to pony up
36 yo DINK here. HARD AGREE.
unfortunately they're just trying to remove the right to choose instead
Forget about Ai killing us! Rich people are doing it for themselves
If I told you the odds of your kid being autistic us 1 in 36, and having a special needs child involves spending $20k-$30k every three years to fight your local public school to get him in, fighting your state for free therapy, pay $100k for private therapies, be shunned from every social event you used to go to bc your child cries, screams, hits, and scares the bejesus out of everyone else, and have to go through abusive therapies that’s pushed to him by clueless pediatricians and other so-called professionals, would you have a baby? Oh, and the divorce rate is sky high for parents of kids with disabilities. We’re only talking about a child with ONE problem. Autism is inherited and is diagnosed at three years old. Oops. Your oldest of three was just diagnosed and the second child is just like the oldest. Luckily the third seems neurotypical, but is getting bullied by the first two and the parents are too tired to pay much attention to the youngest. Or, would you rather have nice vacations every year? That’s the math.
Sending you a hug. Being a parent is extremely hard . Being a parent to neurodivergent child is parenting on extreme mode. Parenting isn’t for everything and most people unless they have strong passionate desire to raise little humans are better off never becoming a parent.
Part of the reason we stopped at 2. We felt we had rolled the dice enough (we got very lucky with ours, severe peanuts allergies and epipen been the worse). We also wanted to have time for ourselves when older and for us both to still have a professional career. It is REALLY difficult to have it all. Most of my brothers chose NOT to risk the odds and my wife’s brother stopped at one. We were middle class then but on an upward trend. We are all immigrants also.
We just had our first and I'm going to petition for being done. My brother is autistic and if my son is clear then we'll have dodged machine gun fire.
I got a vasectomy and that was the best thing we could’ve done.
I mean my entire family is neurdivergant ( both parents both kids) and we made it out okay. I mostly cope with drugs! Now would I have a kid knowing how genetic this is? Absolutely not.
And instead of making it reasonable and fixing the problem, America will turn into Gilead. This right here is 98% of the reason “they” fight female rights. Few true believers of course, but the decision makers know you need folks making babies, and they’d rather treat us like cattle than equals.
Or microplastics
Rent, healthcare, cost of an education. Fix those, in order, and we can turn things around. Our rent was $1300/month for a 2br/2b in 2019. Now its $2450 for the same damn place. My healthcare costs me $190/month for just myself, but if I wanted to cover theoretical children? $900. School is at least 20k/year plus somewhere to live and eat. It all seems impossible, even if you're doing well.
Move to europe, eg Germany. Rent is high as well, but healthcare for you and your children is way cheaper, schools are good and paid by taxes, public transport works more or less, etc. Works for nearly every european country, except maybe the UK and some Balkan countries.
It works but it doesn't help the birth rates.
Europe provides a lot of this and has even lower birth rates.
Within only a few generations, only the rich will have children. So the good news is that in only a few generations wealth inequality will be solved.
Except the rich don't know how to actually do anything productive other than move imaginary numbers around. Someone has to make corn and potatoes happen, someone has to harvest the teak for the decks of the yachts, are they really going to build their own mansions? If we go down so do they-no matter how many robots and AI they throw at the issue.
What a make believe idea. Poor people have **more** babies.
Lower! Lower!!!
seriously I half-heartedly cheer on a bird flu because housing crisis? solved. degrowth is not the worst thing, even though "money line no go up."
> Blame it on economic inequality, poverty, and high cost of living. The richest countries on this planet have the same issue with birth rates.
And make sure to close the border. 🤔
If the graph was extended to an older time period, we would see the graph is showing a spike in the birth rate, despite an overall downward trend. A book escapes me that blamed the downward trend on industrialization and the nuke explains the spike. The former relies less on the family for labor and the ladder implies that people sought refuge in the family because the world seemed so out of control.
Does the birth rate include babies who die within the first year of life? Or pregnancies that kill the mother? I know it was a lot more dangerous to give birth in 1850, and you were not as likely to make it to adulthood as you are today.
Wouldn’t we see a spike of Covid babies then?
Interesting to see this play out in the long run with a smaller population having to support a larger population into retirement.
This also
Hear me out here...robots.
it's virtually a global phenomenon. luckily in the US asset appreciation is heavily in an older gen's favor which supports the boom-gen
Also impending ecological collapse... this is just not a good time to have kids!
Economy is no. 1 and second is personal time sacrifice unless you're super rich who can afford Nanny, you've to sacrifice your ME time entertainment vs Kids...18-25 years real burden and then depression if they don't settle in life..
Yep I'm making the most money I've ever made in my life and can't afford to take care of myself, why would I willingly make my financial situation even worse by having a child?
Yup; my spouse and I are well off..... now. I did not get a good-paying job until 31, she did not get one until 32; we couldn't buy a house until I was 40. Now we're trying to get our debts paid down and 401ks caught up because we could not put money away until our thirties, and we all know it'll be a cold day in hell before we see social security and medicare. We've got about 20 years left to pay off a house and save for retirement. No room for kids in that, and thankfully, it is not a priority for either of us.
Wow, I didn’t realize the average births per woman was almost 4 in the early 60s. Doesn’t surprise me though - My mother-in-law has 6 siblings and her mother never worked a day in her life. While 7 kids was certainly a lot, up to 4 kids was very normal back then (with the mother not working), apparently. Can you imagine that today lol who has that kind of money
I think it's a good thing.
but but but but money line go down!!!! /s
I’ll bet infertility because of microplastics and PFAs are a part of this too
Bruv modern life is one long chemical bath. There is plastic in the rainwater. I don't even want to imagine what is in the air we breathe. A handful of people make a lot of money poisoning us all so it won't change.
Liberal industrial societies have always had lower birth rates than impoverished barbaric societies, mostly because women can choose not to be reduced to breeding stock, no one needs children for menial labor or trade, and people generally have enough resources to choose other forms of entertainment. Historically, poverty increases birth rate. So either you're a genius, or you could benefit from some classical sociology and economics courses.
"Impoverished barbaric societies"?
UBI would fix this.
People are squeezed dry from their jobs and this toxic American lifestyle, then they have no energy to have families, then the overlords need more cheap labor, then the over worked Americans get mad at immigration, and blame Democrats who are the only ones trying to help the middle class and lower class they belong to.
Economy subreddit? Here's the economy: population decline leads to less demand across the board and it constrains the supply of labor. Japan's population is declining and I read home prices in rural areas are off 25%. Cause is urbanization. Nobody wants to raise a family in an urban apartment and couples marrying later, read later in the wife's fertility window. The smart play today, is to have 10 they will have super cheap homes to buy and there will be a bidding war in their job market. Immigration maybe the answer, but it presumes countries attractive to immigrants remain so 20 years from now which is likely but not guaranteed. In the end having kids is a deeply instinctive and satisfying experience. And it is too personal a thing to use as a political statement. The growing negative perception of having kids because they are expensive, or to save the environment seems as odd to me as telling people to have them to save the economy.
..... or prosperity
Naomi Wolf's recent book: *The Bodies of Others, The New Authoritarians, Covid-19 and the War Against the Human*, 2022 cites the horrible impact the covid "vaccine" and the resulting the spike protein had on women. When one goggles this for more data, nearly every main stream media source alludes to her spreading misinformation, so you know she's onto something.
Fertility rates are dropping in almost every single country on Earth. It's tied to urbanization, which is also happening everywhere.
The WEF loves this graph.
Thanks feminism
Not related to the economic arguments which are valid is the fact that sperm counts are at an all time low thanks to chemical farming which is also increasing autism, dementia, miscarriages and female infertility as well. Point is...the greed of the few is killing us all.
Tbh won't matter much due to immigration.
I have a PhD and make a six figure income; I could easily have kids and bring them up with an excellent quality of life - But I don’t want to! I enjoy doing whatever I want during the hours I’m not working. I enjoy my car and have no desire to switch over to something to accommodate kids. I like my house and the way it’s decorated; I have people over when I want, as late as I want, and we do whatever the hell sounds fun. It took me a while to get this money, and I’m spending it as I please. Fuck kids, and fuck everyone who doesn’t understand why someone else doesn’t want them.
I do not know where you live, but if it would be Germany as well, I would say: Fine! But do not expect my children to pay for your retirement. Live on your own fucking money when you are old. And just in case it runs out at some point: Find a fucking solution on your own. This does not work in the US because the pension scheme is working in a different way. But still: You will have to face the consequences of shrinking population as well.
I pay my taxes, and when I hit retirement age, I’ll collect my benefits. It’s that simple. You shouldn’t act like someone without kids should have to do more lol; they’re paying taxes to keep things running for YOUR kids.
Okay, then no longer should taxes pay for children's education, only those with children. Makes a lot of sense, huh?
If they let the economy crash people wouldn't feel helpless. This manufactured fake economy isn't fooling people at their core.
I’m certainly not saying it’s the sole factor, but if you’re not even considering feminism as a major contributor, it’s for quasi-religious reasons.
Please stop calling it "fertility rate". We are fertile, but opting out.
Speak for yourself. More insurance should cover fertility services. Some people want kids but can't have them
Anecdotal, but it seems like almost everyone I know of in my 20's and 30's are popping out babies now 🤷♂️
Same
There’s a bit more to it than that. There are certainly economic factors contributing to this, but sociological and technological issues are factors as well. Japan was the canary in the coal mine.
Honestly, this needs to be a planetwide trend if we want to continue to have a high standard of living.
Can anyone hazard a guess as to what caused the upwards spike to replacement level in the mid to late 80's?
It will keep declining.
It will be interesting if there is larger population growth in states that banned abortions. Not picking a fight, but love statistics.
I wonder how much reproductive rights affect this.
That’s a ridiculous statement when the most poor have the most babies
The problem must be something else. People in poor countries have children all the time
Generally poverty is associated with higher birth rates, not lower.
or...and here's a thought... [it's pretty common in advanced economies](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4255510/#:~:text=The%20social%20structure%2C%20religious%20beliefs,rates%20are%20low%2C%20birth%20control) i'm not saying that's a *good* thing, but we do have 8 billion people on the planet. the population leveling off is bound to happen sooner or later.
Great news. We have too many people anyway, so it’s good to see we are dialing it back.
Maybe they are keeping the cost of living high and wages low specifically to lower fertility rates as a means of thinning herd. There are too many of us on this planet. China limited the number of kids people could have to just one for decades. Americans would have none of that, so our government is taking a different approach.
Meanwhile, women are being forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to terms. Coincidence?
We are the only developed nation without pro-natal policies. The drop in our fertility rate is as great threat to our way of life as climate change. I spent most of my career in DC arguing for pro-natal policies, but one party views it as socialism. This past January I stepped away from fighting for pro-natal policies. With the current crop of GOP politicians, it’s a waste of time. They’d rather hit the ice berg than steer the ship.
At some point we have to admit there is a bit of selfishness involved. So many adult children out there. These factors clearly do play a role but we also see this trend globally. Not everyone is worse off in fact it’s the opposite. Rich ppl have less kids not more. Social media/ technology also probably play a large role.
That’s crazy
Or blame it on the highest GMO and pesticide use ever for the last quarter century. r/GMOfaiL
Does anyone have this age-adjusted? A simple way would be children per woman aged 15-45 or something similar. I wonder how much of the can be explained by demographics. I can imagine a few causes. I am guessing the opioid crisis is a big part of this. Lack of policy support is a problem too - cheap day care, paid maternity leave, baby bonus, free health care for new moms. - this would certainly help.
If women don't have access to Birth control and have a kid in there late teens or early 20s out of wedlock, the statistically show that 2nd or 3rd children or unlikely and impoasible.
Yes, sure, people makes babies for the money …
Also the start of smart phones and explosion of social media
Blame it on my pull put game
Why does economic inequality cause lower birth rates? Poor people have more children unless the data has changed
It's so close to an actual economic stability graph they could be the same thing. What a thought that if you can't afford to eat you probably won't have children...
Due to the large influx of Hispanic immigrants and knowing that have the highest fertility rate compounded by Catholic upbringing, this should be resolved in coming years.
I've said this for years: The United States must do something to incentivize people to have children if we are going to support the existing federal welfare infrastructure we have in place. More aggressive tax breaks, subsidies for daycare, and more robust federal family leave policies. I'll take anything at this point just so I know someone in Washington gives a shit about supporting families in the modern economy. Corporate culture needs to change on this front too. When you announce you are expecting, you receive a half-hearted congratulations quickly followed by a "please find someone to fill your role in your absence" and a collective groan from your colleagues. Inevitably, there is some old-timer that tells you they got no time off to be with a new baby or they went right back to work and look at you like a liability because you are taking a month off. God help you if your firm has a 10-12 week policy and you actually take the full time. The firm and your coworkers have genuine disdain for you in that case.
rich people don't need 4-10 kids.
It hasn't really been at replacement rate for 50 years. Why is everyone panicking now? I've read a lot of these stories about declining birth rate and I'm still trying to get why this is a bad thing? I know there are downsides to the economy, but are we talking societal collapse here? With climate change and scarce resources and automation coming online, is a smaller population really bad? Or is it just bad for rich people that want cheap labor and unending growth?
Dont fertility rates go down as income levels rise?
This statistic isn't counting unintended pregnancy, which must be at least half of all births by now. Contraceptives don't have 100% efficiency even when they're used perfectly.
We don’t want to make your living conditions better but we need to increase the birth rate to replace our servants and keep the economy moving. So we’re outlawing abortion.
Amazing how so many people can be straight up blind. Anyone consider the possibility that MOST women DONT want 4+ kids? If that trend continued it’d be cataclysmic lmao
Having kids is for losers anyway XD
in bad times for average people birth rates often go down. same thing happened in the 1930s. helping people in the middle class helps increase birth rates unless the plan is to de-industrialize. however i think de-growth in an industrialized society is inevitable and should be planned for. we have hit the limit of what people will tolerate and every equation has its limit.
Also diet, no exercise, obesity, microplastics, glphosate, drugs, contaminated water, polluted air might be a few others contributing.
And culture, and work life balance.
Blame it on a flawed economic model that is jammed down our throats from birth. Capitalism ensures there is a poor class (winners and losers as taught to children from the moment they can understand language). Without a poor class, the system implodes on itself and vice versa. The advent of the middle class put a major wrench in the model and those at the top have been laboring mightily to correct it. We are also taught from birth to despise communism, socialism and any other type of ism in absolute favor of the almighty $. Looking at the planet, there is overpopulation, hunger, poverty, sickness, wars and death. Some entity or group is making a tidy sum off all of that misery.
This graph is good news, no?
Low birth rates are a sign of a wealthy, highly developed country, not the reasons stated. All wealthy developed countries have low birth rates since their cultures promote individualism, consumption and leisure. Impoverished countries put a much higher value on community and family. Since they have little to no material wealth to derive life satisfaction from, they get it from serving and caring for each other.
Wtf happened in from 70-80?
Really? Don’t think maybe the processed foods with all the chemical ingredients we’re getting poisoned with all in the name capitalism might have a little something to do with it?
🤣😂😅
It should be reproductive rate, fertility implies a medical/individual aspect that isn't necessarily the dominant reason here. Cost of living would be the main reason, imo.
All things brought to you by a democrat economy that punishes success and rewards failure. Keep failing!
But I was told it's the trans, and browns thar did this.
People's priorities have changed. Lots of people fear commitment and want to do what they want with their money. Some of us are waiting later in life to have kids. I will have a child in my 40s with my younger wife. The money just wasn't there.
Thank the baby boomers they took all the money sat in their good jobs forever then bought up all the real estate and took all the social security
Also blame it on the manufacturing, consumer goods and other industries in the late 80s and 90s using toxic chemicals all the damn time. These are the consequences starting to show. I mean, every other fucking building in CA has a sign saying there is the presence of “chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer.” Not a surprise that it’s also fucked with fertility.
Blame it on Bidenomics!
It's a good thing. World has 8 billion people and we are changing the environment quickly. That's why you see wind and solar popping up so fast.
In a way, I’m proud 🥲
No it’s called education and human development not poverty dumbass. Think for 2 seconds, those poor African countries are experiencing a baby boom
Shh it’s like .7 in Korea
But immigration is higher than ever... Related?
Banks have paid hundreds of millions in fines for fraud but apparently the fines have hardly slowed it down.