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Persistent inflation would likely be a reason to have children as opposed to not having children. Not a good reason, but at our current rates, we're looking at doubling the cost of everything within a decade. It may become increasingly difficult to save enough to actually retire.
Persistent inflation would likely be a reason to have children as opposed to not having children. Not a good reason, but at our current rates, we're looking at doubling the cost of everything within a decade. It may become increasingly difficult to save enough to actually retire.
Quote:
Originally Posted by papafox
Whattttttt? You can’t be serious! Why?
It takes about two decades for the effects of a drop in birth rates to be felt in the workforce.
So imagine 100 people working and then in about 20 years that 100 people would be replaced by half. I'm sure the fed could raise interest rates to match, but who could afford it? Who could afford the taxes? 2.5 million people are missing from the workforce today; not because they don't want to work. But simply because they weren't born. That's why.
We’ve had about 10 years of decent-good economy and birth rates are low…be interesting see how much lower they can go as the good times end (are ending). I personally know like one person with 4 kids…everybody else 2, 1 or 0. In my grandparents time (40s and 50s) it seems like it was common for women to have 3, 4, 5 kids.
I suspect that the cost of raising children rarely figures into the equation. That's not what the decision is based on and I also suspect that quite often having a child isn't a decision at all, it is just something that isn't planned.
Many, many younger couples have deferred having children in recent years due to financial considerations. I'm sure many have decided not to.
I've never particularly wanted kids, but financial considerations were definitely considered.
I could see some young people thinking you have to be pretty well off nowadays to really care for a child…obviously need a reliable vehicle, a house in a good neighborhood (now $300k+ in most areas) debt paid off or down, good amount in savings. If you think like that kids could be put off a long long time. Of course sometimes they happen no matter how you think.
two things come to mind.
1. people who want to have kids, will continue to have kids.
2. however i think in general more and more people will choose to NOT have kids. we are already seeing that in many places. and that trend will continue to grow.
I could see some young people thinking you have to be pretty well off nowadays to really care for a child…obviously need a reliable vehicle, a house in a good neighborhood (now $300k+ in most areas) debt paid off or down, good amount in savings. If you think like that kids could be put off a long long time. Of course sometimes they happen no matter how you think.
Yup, I raised a kid without being able to afford a home of my own (but did rent in a safe town with good schools--my daughter has two Bachelors, a Masters, and a PhD), and I was ALWAYS in debt because I wanted to provide her with the advantages of music and other extra-curricular activities. Of course, when I had her, I was married and the plans were different, but people change, and life doesn't always go as planned.
If you wait for the perfect circumstances, you may never have a child. I couldn't wait much longer because I was already 33 when I had her, but I did have a solid job and knew I could support her alone if needed and/or with the help of family, and that turned out to be exactly the case.
A reliable vehicle can be just that and not a fancy newer car that will impress your neighbors. I drove old cars because I commuted to work via public transportation and couldn't afford both a car payment and a train ticket every month, and if we took a trip for a weekend or something, I rented a better vehicle.
two things come to mind.
1. people who want to have kids, will continue to have kids.
2. however i think in general more and more people will choose to NOT have kids. we are already seeing that in many places. and that trend will continue to grow.
I think within group 1, people who want to have kids may have kids, but not as many as they initially planned to have. For example, I think my sister originally planned to have 2 kids. She lives in the most expensive area of the country and ended up having only one child. It took her 2-3 years to find a house they could afford, but it requires lots of renovations (still in the process). I’m in Chicagoland and that isn’t unusual here too. I have neighbors and coworkers with one and the benefit is that they have money to afford a lot more enrichment activities for the one.
I think China is a good case study. After forced one-child policy for decades, birth rates are continuing to decline even though one-child ended in 2015 and last year introduced three-child because birth rates are continuing to decline. The people of childbearing age now were born during one-child and it doesn’t seem like they see any benefit to having more than one child themselves. I think in other countries, you have people who have siblings and can talk about the benefits or understand what it means to have a sibling. When the option is either to have one or be penalized, one can see how people who grew up with that would elect to stick with having the one.
I don’t have children and do know people who choose not to have kids. Most of my friends have kids, but I do know married/partnered people who never had children and are too old to start now. I think a lot of them do have pets though, as others have pointed out.
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