For those of us living in states where abortion is virtually banned, child birth is a serious medical risk. In Idaho, OB-GYNs leaving our states in droves and we have shortages of Maternal-Fetal Medicine doctors. In conversations among women I know, this is a huge factor in their decision to have another child.
Love kids, wish there was the option for me to have another (one and done, the universe decided). Meanwhile, what's the world want with the kid I do have? All I can think these days is meat for blood sport a la The Hunger Games. We're doing very little these days to support humanity outside of a literal handful of people and their hangers on.
I keep wondering why we need or want more people--other than we are programmed by nature to want more people... especially people like Us and NOT those Other people.
Women may say on a survey they’d like two children but I’d love to see the other questions. Are they a nice to have or does the person see children as essential to a fulfilling life? My guess is less women now think of children that way. Also, if you know middle class or upper middle class parents, you see the utter rat race their lives are. Stressed out, driving to a half dozen or more activities every weekend, no personal time. That is on top of work pressures. Kids living structured lives constantly minded by ever present parents. It’s parenting on steroids. Quite frankly no fence sitter can be blamed for saying “no thanks” to modern parenting in America.
That said, our lack of childcare, lack of insurance including paternity and maternity leave, access to education and now an unstable economy is structurally not in place to support this endeavor.
40% of American births are covered by Medicaid. 50% in rural area's. We have a serious disconnect between the nation we want and the one we think we have and the reality out there in the real world. We're cutting Medicaid to give tax cuts to the wealthy. Whether they really connect the dots or not people get the real message and a $5,000 check isn't going to change the reality of inequality and cost of living being out of control
To have a rational conversation about population, and any need for population growth, we need to consider some respect for the other species that inhabit this planet with us, and support us in so many unrecognized ways. We will never emerge from the dark ages until we can except the necessity of recognizing the rights of other species to exist and thrive on this planet. Moreover, the stance of pro population increase advocates seems not to recognize that in Africa children still die of malaria at a rate, that should be unacceptable in this so-called civilized world. Why do people not recognize the humane need to treat other less economically advanced populations with the dignity of a conversation on how to reduce death rates of children? Please see the answer from the Trump administration: just forget about them, and any program that supports them.
Because people in the “shithole countries” don’t matter. They’re not white. It just all is incredibly absurd and depressing. And dehumanizing. Plus, to appreciate your other point, yes, we have finite resources. Food and clean water are the most important for sustaining life on this planet. Much more focus should be given to the management of those resources for the benefit of all. But fuck that, keep popping out spawn and drill baby. 🤦♀️ I just don’t feel confident about this human experiment.
As a parent on the margin with respect to the decision to add to our family, yes, money matters. Adding another child means some combination of reduced spending on anything fun (already greatly reduced by our first two), diminishing spending on extracurriculars and education for the first two, and delayed retirement. Any credible promises of future increases in government support would make a significant impact on our decision.
It should be obvious that one of the main factors limiting the number of children is the cost of raising them well vs. the resources that the average family has. Obviously that isn't the whole problem, but it is a good part of it.
As long as you need two incomes to make it financially in this country, then birth rate is going to keep falling. As long as a career demands full attention, birth rates will keep falling. As long as society is geared away from helping raise kids, birth rates will keep falling. We need significant parental paid time off for newborns, wages that will allow one person to support a family, policies that do not discriminate against people with children, support for quality free public schooling, affordable medical care for pre and post parturient women and for kids, available nutrition especially for kids and mothers, ... Every one of these things is being eliminated even as we speak.
The right wing method to counteract falling birth rates is to prevent abortions and prevent contraception. All the rest of raising a kid falls by the wayside.
That is largely true, but they still aren't oriented toward regarding family with kids as a focal point of society. There is so much else in society these days that competes with the goal of raising kids. And besides, other than the problem of caring for an increasing percentage of elderly people, a falling population has a lot to be said for it.
Given the overt misogynistic nature of this administration's major players and the whiff of eugenics from aligned tech-bro pronatalists like Musk, I'm pretty confident anything this administration tries to do in this area will only make the situation worse.
More White Babies, that is.
For those of us living in states where abortion is virtually banned, child birth is a serious medical risk. In Idaho, OB-GYNs leaving our states in droves and we have shortages of Maternal-Fetal Medicine doctors. In conversations among women I know, this is a huge factor in their decision to have another child.
Love kids, wish there was the option for me to have another (one and done, the universe decided). Meanwhile, what's the world want with the kid I do have? All I can think these days is meat for blood sport a la The Hunger Games. We're doing very little these days to support humanity outside of a literal handful of people and their hangers on.
We don't have a fertility crisis. We have a reproduction crisis — and underneath that, a crisis of hope.
I keep wondering why we need or want more people--other than we are programmed by nature to want more people... especially people like Us and NOT those Other people.
Women may say on a survey they’d like two children but I’d love to see the other questions. Are they a nice to have or does the person see children as essential to a fulfilling life? My guess is less women now think of children that way. Also, if you know middle class or upper middle class parents, you see the utter rat race their lives are. Stressed out, driving to a half dozen or more activities every weekend, no personal time. That is on top of work pressures. Kids living structured lives constantly minded by ever present parents. It’s parenting on steroids. Quite frankly no fence sitter can be blamed for saying “no thanks” to modern parenting in America.
Is it possible that women are afraid to become pregnant because of anti-abortion laws that criminalize obstetric care?
Pretty sure he means a certain color of baby...
That said, our lack of childcare, lack of insurance including paternity and maternity leave, access to education and now an unstable economy is structurally not in place to support this endeavor.
The lack of basic critical thinking is stunning.
40% of American births are covered by Medicaid. 50% in rural area's. We have a serious disconnect between the nation we want and the one we think we have and the reality out there in the real world. We're cutting Medicaid to give tax cuts to the wealthy. Whether they really connect the dots or not people get the real message and a $5,000 check isn't going to change the reality of inequality and cost of living being out of control
We are shifting quickly into Handmaid’s Tale territory.
To have a rational conversation about population, and any need for population growth, we need to consider some respect for the other species that inhabit this planet with us, and support us in so many unrecognized ways. We will never emerge from the dark ages until we can except the necessity of recognizing the rights of other species to exist and thrive on this planet. Moreover, the stance of pro population increase advocates seems not to recognize that in Africa children still die of malaria at a rate, that should be unacceptable in this so-called civilized world. Why do people not recognize the humane need to treat other less economically advanced populations with the dignity of a conversation on how to reduce death rates of children? Please see the answer from the Trump administration: just forget about them, and any program that supports them.
Because people in the “shithole countries” don’t matter. They’re not white. It just all is incredibly absurd and depressing. And dehumanizing. Plus, to appreciate your other point, yes, we have finite resources. Food and clean water are the most important for sustaining life on this planet. Much more focus should be given to the management of those resources for the benefit of all. But fuck that, keep popping out spawn and drill baby. 🤦♀️ I just don’t feel confident about this human experiment.
On the human experiment, you got that right man.
Blessed be the fruitcakes.
"The impetus for this is a concern that, as a WHITE society, we are not replenishing our ranks of white children quickly enough...."
With regards your current administration in America, I edited and fixed that line for you Jonathan :).
As a parent on the margin with respect to the decision to add to our family, yes, money matters. Adding another child means some combination of reduced spending on anything fun (already greatly reduced by our first two), diminishing spending on extracurriculars and education for the first two, and delayed retirement. Any credible promises of future increases in government support would make a significant impact on our decision.
It should be obvious that one of the main factors limiting the number of children is the cost of raising them well vs. the resources that the average family has. Obviously that isn't the whole problem, but it is a good part of it.
As long as you need two incomes to make it financially in this country, then birth rate is going to keep falling. As long as a career demands full attention, birth rates will keep falling. As long as society is geared away from helping raise kids, birth rates will keep falling. We need significant parental paid time off for newborns, wages that will allow one person to support a family, policies that do not discriminate against people with children, support for quality free public schooling, affordable medical care for pre and post parturient women and for kids, available nutrition especially for kids and mothers, ... Every one of these things is being eliminated even as we speak.
The right wing method to counteract falling birth rates is to prevent abortions and prevent contraception. All the rest of raising a kid falls by the wayside.
The Scandinavian countries have those things and yet birthrates are declining there too.
That is largely true, but they still aren't oriented toward regarding family with kids as a focal point of society. There is so much else in society these days that competes with the goal of raising kids. And besides, other than the problem of caring for an increasing percentage of elderly people, a falling population has a lot to be said for it.
Given the overt misogynistic nature of this administration's major players and the whiff of eugenics from aligned tech-bro pronatalists like Musk, I'm pretty confident anything this administration tries to do in this area will only make the situation worse.