America’s Birth Rate “Crisis”

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[@PolyMatter]

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[@nevad34]

STOP TRYNA MAKE NEBULA HAPPEN WE NOT GETTING IT TBH BRO

[@itchylol742]

-talks about people struggling to pay the bills in the video -promotes a subscription product in the comments

[@emmanuel1687]

Say no to abortion

[@StarboyXL9]

Imagine thinking that giving women rights is more important than preserving your civilization. Only a soon-to-be-non-existent society could possibly think that. Oh wait...

[@tamadeus7189]

Thank you for your objective analysis and helpful endorsement.

[@aguywithaname]

Scariest part is when he said 2007 was 17 years ago

[@Kaybossboi]

Bro we’re closer to 2040 than than we are to 2007 that’s even more scary

[@realdreamerschangetheworld7470]

Closer to 2050 than 1990. The cruelty is unmatched.

[@matheenarif8645]

Ya, we are getting old. Deal with it.

[@espen2729]

Why would you keep perpetuating the lie????

[@hamzamahmood9565]

​@@espen2729 Chill dude. What lie

[@kibble-net]

College enrollment is down? Is it at all possible that the $100,000 price tag has something to do with it?

[@dasbubba841]

Increasing price tag, decreasing benefits.

[@skylinefever]

It costs more and it creates less of a ROI on getting it.

[@fieryrebirth]

Ruling wealthy class don't want the working class to get educated to the point they rebel and think for their own needs.

[@user-tr1zj]

these college admins are absolute maggots

[@curtis.albrecht.79]

Orrr... It could be that FEMINISM has made the college campus a huge hazard zone for men??? Trade school is where all of the men are now. I have 3 STEM Degrees, that aren't worth much more than toilet paper.

[@Guitarocker493]

If a college can't figure out how to handle their finances with a drop in enrollment given how much student loans are, they deserve to close.

[@chelseablue8001]

They should shut business degree. Clearly, they don't know how to do business properly without going bankrupt.

[@Praisethesunson]

@@chelseablue8001 college isn't a business and was never supposed to be a business. Your capitalist masters made higher education a business so they could seize control over what you poors learn if you ever go.

[@castirondude]

Yea. When I went to college in the 90's they had maybe a dozen administrative staff and then 1 teacher per 20 students or so. Now I was absolutely shocked to hear places like Stanford have almost a 1:1 staff to student ratio. Like what do these people even do??? Outreach programs, diversity and inclusion (which IS institutionalized racism frankly), website management, administration, .... yea, let them go bankrupt.

[@Praisethesunson]

@@castirondude Admin staff in colleges exist to seize power from college faculty and act as a siphon for the money college take in to go back into the private sector. The book fall of the faculty explains it nicely.

[@kelsey_roy]

Why would I want to do something that would disadvantage me in the long run, such as having a kid 👶

[@stephenthompson4389]

The government asking why I’m not having kids is like my boss asking me why I’m so poor.

[@christianedwards9025]

Right, and both require a special type of tone deafness.

[@marcos-ll2yr]

😂 true don't make any sense

[@YeahYeahBeebisI]

This. And $5000 baby bonuses are the pizza party and "goodie bags" 😆

[@Joe-ti7qd]

It's not the governments fault. It's everyone's. Yall wanted cheap foreign goods. Drove out domestic production. Turned us into consoomers. A pattern that plays pit throughout history time and time again. But blame whatever politician out of ignorance.

[@melodyofthelexicon]

It's fucking insane. Greedy power-mongering idiots don't fucking understand that by continuously screwing us common people over more and more, they make it so we DON'T want to have kids because to do so would threaten or outright destroy what little financial stability we've even managed to achieve. Plus we DON'T have universal healthcare and the fucks running the hospitals make everything 10-1,000x more expensive than it is in EVERY other country for the sake of their own pockets. Is it any wonder the crime rate is going up? Because these fucks are forcing more and more people to become CRIMINALS just to survive. Mark my words, it's no longer going to be "illegal" in the eyes of the people who struggle every day. It's going to be the cost of survival.

[@gorgthesalty]

No subsidized daycare. No maternity / paternity leave. No sick leave. No living wage. No guaranteed vacation of at least 4 weeks for families to refresh. Schools funded based on local community wealth. Universities extremely expensive. Predatory lending for above higher education costs, burdening would be parents at their time to save for families. Employment based health insurance. Highly expensive healthcare system, with high out of pocket costs. USA is anything but family friendly. You get what you seek as a country, and US implicitly seeks married career couples who are healthy and childless. For them, most of the policy benefits are setup. Everyone else is disincentivized.

[@fzigunov]

Damn. So true... 😢

[@Paulkjoss]

A life cantered around Materialism and status… The US is a machine promoting, projecting, enabling and supporting it.

[@rushrush1209]

Well said. USA does everything possible to discourage people from having kids.

[@aidanwelch4763]

Countries with those policies don't have much significantly different birthrates generally.

[@maxpower9708]

- No subsidized daycare Governments subsidize stuff using taxes. If there's no subsidized daycare -- why are the US taxes so high? - No sick leave At least in some countries, sick leaves are payed by the government, that gets that money from taxes. If there are no sick leaver -- why are the US taxes so high? - Universities extremely expensive In countries with "free" education, it is actually paid by taxes. If the education in the US is not free -- why are the US taxes so high? - Employment based health insurance In countries with "free" health care, it is actually paid by taxes. If the health care in the US is not free -- why are the US taxes so high? Seems to me, the US government takes way too much money and does shit with it, or does something extremely inefficiently. If the taxes would've been lower, as they should be it looks like, for the government doesn't do shit, maybe people would have enough money to pay for stuff like daycare? Someone needs to remember that they live in a democracy. I'm not a US citizen, so I can't do that.

[@spartan662501]

Politicians and business shocked that when people can't afford children, they don't have children

[@jerryrichardson2799]

Exactly and thank you.

[@mysterioanonymous3206]

Naw. More affluent people have fewer children than lower income households. So there's a disconnect with your opinion. I say that because it literally is your "opinion".

[@OP10thNakama]

​@@mysterioanonymous3206the poor having more kids can be due to lack of sex education, poor access to family planning, or live in a country that has high infant mortality rates aka families pump babies out assuming not all of them make it to adulthood. The main comment is concerned with adults who have the ability to reproduce but choose not to due to financial reasons. Statistically the ones with lowest births are the middle class, the class that people are more likely to be educated enough to know the financial repercussions of having a child. Using one data point to try and reject a complex situation is frankly a disingenuous attempt at trying to assert your opinions as superior to someone else's.

[@mysterioanonymous3206]

@@OP10thNakama it is what it is. Putting more money in people's pockets will evidently lower birth rates even more. Doesn't matter what you think, that's what the data says. I might add that this is a topic I have been following for some twelve or so years, I'm very well read on this, I have heard all these arguments thousands of times. I guarantee you that money isn't the reason. That point is reinforced by a plethora of data... The average per person housing footprint for example has doubled since the 50s. So people for example have far more space than they ever had. They also have more available income than ever before but they choose to spend it elsewhere (avocado toast ofc... But also travel, hobbies, luxuries like eating out and so on). Also, people who do have children have about as many as they would in the 50s (consistent family size). But there's far more people without children nowadays (increasing childlessness). That's the reason for falling birthrates. And a big culprit here is, likely, that education takes far longer than it used to, meaning people are having a so called "prolonged adolescence", meaning life milestones happen later and later (first job, moving out, marrying and so on...), meaning many people will have fertility issues once they do reach the point where they might want a family. An unmarried 30yo woman has a less than 50% chance of just conceiving (even less to bring a pregnancy to maturity), and an unmarried woman at 35 has a statistical chance of having kids of only slightly above zero. That's what's up. People have no clue. Again, doesn't matter if you like it or not. It is what it is.

[@flagmichael]

@@mysterioanonymous3206 I don't think we are on the same page. My view is we are talking about the lives of those like us. You (presumably) and I are very conscious of the expected costs and unexpected costs of raising children. It appears most people feel the same way in developed countries: national birth rates below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per couple are the new standard. Your opinion aside, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation as reported in the Lancet in March, "By 2100, 97% of countries will have fertility rates below what is needed to sustain their population size." Of the six populated continents, only Africa has a Total Fertility Rate above the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman, and that is dropping.

[@Dominus_Potatus]

Have you ever played sims city? If you built no houses, population won't increase.

[@jrjr648]

Right, they get the no job zot

[@TiBiAstro]

there are three empty homes for every single unhoused person in the United States.

[@Praisethesunson]

America has built thousands of high end speculative real estate units that have been sitting empty for years.

[@bobsteve4812]

@@TiBiAstro Most of the empty homes are in places where Americans do not wish to live, and includes abandoned homes in disrepair in rural areas. The US needs more homes in places where people actually want to live.

[@hydronpowers9014]

It's true for any city builder: Population is low > build more house > population gets comfortable > create more jobs > population is satisfied > birth rate increase

[@jessegaddy1897]

Oh no, worker drones aren't producing more worker drones, what will we do??

[@onionfarmer3044]

So you see yourself that low?

[@jessegaddy1897]

@@onionfarmer3044 no, the government sees us that way though.

[@summess5567]

The term is 'Worker Bees'. Drones are the bees that exist only to fertilise the Queen. Of course, you meant 'Workers'. As in 'Oh dear, the drones and Queen aren't producing enough Worker Bees'.

[@PherPhur]

We NEED the population to decline, that gives workers leverage(especially entry level cause they need it the most) to negotiate for higher wages, even without a union or any direct communication. At the current rate of US economic culture, this countries quality of life will continue to decrease and decrease as the now unthinkably powerful industry titans and corrupt politicians keep threading this needle of ever increasing financial growth of Americas richest. I don't mind immigrants, but right now we need the population to decline and we need to restrict immigration so that we can equalize some of the wealth disparity.

[@onionfarmer3044]

@PherPhur with automation and AI the workers won't matter. Look into clothing creation as it went global.

[@billyosullivan3192]

Since industrialisation the assumption when you have kids is you will give them a better life than you had. People don't believe thats possible anymore

[@Guitarocker493]

It happened with the boomers then those fucks hoarded the better life for themselves.

[@POOKISTAN]

It's funny that gender relations are not be mentioned in the Comments (or perhaps the keywords discussing them are blocked, because censorship ALWAYS leads to better dialogue!). One gender is by far more responsible than the other for that issue - I'll let you guess which one it is. * Waggles his thumbs. *

[@POOKISTAN]

See how it says 2 replies but only one is coming up - They're censoring certain opinions and not allowing a real discussion to occur. One of my responses 'magically disappeared'.

[@POOKISTAN]

They're c3n soaring the dialogue here, just so you guys are aware - There's a reason why certain obvious things are not appearing in the Comments.

[@rephaelreyes8552]

@@POOKISTAN What are you yapping about? The main reason for the declining birthrate is due to lower teenage and unwanted pregnancies. Gender roles is only a small contributing factor, but the progression from joint family to nuclear family REALLY took a toll on the family expectations and responsibilities. Both men and women have to work much harder to keep the house in order (chores and doing groceries) while simultaneously meet the financial necessities. It used to be that the grandparents and unemployed siblings took the role for keeping the house tidy, baby sitting for the children, and cooking food everyday while the able bodies went out to make some money. It's the fact that we're more isolated and assume that everyone can take in the responsibilities of a joint family unit, that we and our parents are working harder than we should. The children are observant and realized that this task is too difficult of a burden, so they end up marrying later and having less kids. Don't be polarized with this news and agenda. Look at it through a clearer perspective.

[@FIDEL_CASHFLOW_]

My wife and I planned on having at least three kids but after just one, we are perpetually exhausted, worn out, and having to get creative with our finances. We make combined $150,000 a year but with everything costing double or triple what it cost A decade ago, it's just simply not possible to raise more than one child.

[@Fruitysfaction]

I live in Germany and my situation is similar to yours. Housing, food, clothing has gotten so expensive that a kid of mine would grow up in poverty. I get a decent salary but it would not sustain a wife and a kid. No surprise that I refrain from founding a family.

[@HassanKhan0987]

That's insane. 150,000 should be completely livable

[@solracer66]

@@HassanKhan0987Depends where you live. Here in Seattle $150k is about what you’d need with 1 kid and even that is tight. Between high housing costs and high food costs because of lack of competition (which will get far worse once Kroger controls 80% of the grocery stores post-merger) even a large income like that can barely be enough.

[@andre1987eph]

My mom had 5 9n welfare. I attended an Ivy League college. You're making excuses.

[@natedagreat19]

@@andre1987ephhow old are you?

[@Rekoniz17]

Dear US government and private corporations, May I introduce you to ....... the consequences of your actions

[@HeadStronger-HS]

Don’t forget the Federal Reserve

[@Demopans5990]

​Federal Reserve is about as federal as the Federal Post

[@etm3398]

consequence? govt's job is to protect the donor class and everything is as designed

[@BDee3126]

Government and private corporations: "Cool story, brah, do you know how we can continue recording record profits for the next quarter though?"

[@bornstar481]

@@etm3398the donor class will cease to exist when they run out of people to exploit, so it’s still a consequence

[@prettypic444]

They’ve done it, they’ve turned children into a status item!

[@tracyjacksonjackson4221]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@spacetoast7783]

@@prettypic444 then why don't rich people have more kids then poor people?

[@480darkshadow]

@@spacetoast7783brok do you see how many kids Elon Musk has

[@spacetoast7783]

@@480darkshadow ???

[@winstonpham4809]

​@@480darkshadow that's a one in a dozen deal sir

[@KessaWitdaFro]

It's too expensive and there is no longer a village.

[@bokunogentoo4420]

I'd say on paper an American-style apartment complex could be a stand-in for the village you speak of, but in reality most people treat their life in an apartment as this gross thing to get out of. I try to say hello to all my neighbors when I see them; the ones that are older say hello back and try to chat and whatnot, but the ones that are my age usually give me this face like "why are you talking to me, person who lives next to me?" So there's your "village"

[@funmilayoaina2658]

That 'village' was built on people's free labor

[@Daily-PE]

​@@funmilayoaina2658 saying that to a black person is kinda crazy ( look at there pf picture)

[@WanderingMiqo]

​​@@Daily-PEWell to be fair, American institutional slavery ended well over 100 years ago. Just because someone's ancestors went through something horrible, doesn't mean they did too.

[@WanderingMiqo]

​@@Daily-PEAnd I say this as a 1st generation US citizen, whose family immigrated to the US because of horrible circumstances. Your ancestor's suffering and struggles aren't yours and we shouldn't pretend they are. That's the only way to overcome them.

[@fmissark]

When I was a kid, the narrative was " Earth is over populated" now it's " we need more people"

[@thomasgrabkowski8283]

Because back then, birth rates were above replacement and population was growing exponentially, without the technology to support a population as large as today's technology level would enable us to support. Today, we run into the opposite issue of having persistent below replacement birth rates and how in the future, there wouldn't be enough young people to pay off the pensions of retirees

[@catmaxi2599]

Back then people were dumb and didn't predict correctly. That's why we can't just extrapolate data

[@dafafaaf7679]

Not stupid, but we are not able to predict that far ahead.

[@FictionHubZA]

Long-term prjections rarely ever get anything right.​@@catmaxi2599

[@hmm7258]

​@@catmaxi2599 Nah, technology and demographics are just hard to predict

[@dstinnettmusic]

People of birthing age: we literally cannot afford to support ourselves. Why would I have kids? Policymakers: why won’t people have kids?!?!

[@TheElementAce]

Spot on. Social media algorithms are designed to confirm our biases. So people of birthing age will continue to see obvious signs of poor child-rearing conditions (rising housing costs, shrinking labor market, etc). And policymakers will continue to see signs of peak birthing conditions (record profits, technological progress, etc.) Two different realities

[@zayzay92]

You hit the nail on the head 😂 between inflation and child care cost I’m gonna be a dink. Formula is literally like 50 a can rn it’s insane.

[@gundamnduke0]

the wolves cry when the sheep stop reproducing

[@SourDonut99]

I suspect everyone saying this (they can't even afford to live) aren't even married.

[@dinodonut5776]

Even the poorest people today still have far more disposable income than anyone un human history more than 100 years ago. Are we supposed to believe middle class Americans are somehow less financially well off than medieval peasants, or poor farm laborers from the 1800s? All that has changed is the availability of birth control, and the attitude towards raising kids. People don’t want to give up any of their material wealth or free time for it. And that’s not a bad thing. But the idea that everyone in the world is suddenly too poor to have kids is ludicrous.

[@gothwolf13]

Anecdotally, everyone I have talked to around my age are not having kids and their number one reason by far is financial, followed by feeling depressed about the future and a child’s potential for a lower quality of life. Several just don’t want kids. I’d love to adopt some day, but right now I can’t afford it.

[@jaykay5142]

Yep, low fertility I think is a sign of low confidence.

[@RamenEnjoyer404]

it's almost as if wealth inequality and homes becoming a investment makes many young people (myself included) not want to have kids, cause I don't want to bring a child into the world where I can't provide a stable life

[@Skeloperch]

I can tell by you saying "wealth inequality" is a problem that the policies you champion are the ones making the economy worse ("tax the rich").

[@RamenEnjoyer404]

@@Skeloperch I can tell by how you say (“tax the rich”) that you believe trickle down economics is a good system and works

[@dynamicascension981]

ABORTION

[@Tahoza]

@@Skeloperch I mean, I'd be interested in hearing what you think has been getting better, in general, as a result of tax breaks for the rich. Like, this isn't a gotcha question. You say "taxing the rich" and similar perspectives are harmful. There have been numerous instances in which the opposite of that has occurred in the last few decades (that is, pro-rich policies). What positive benefits has it had on the economic realities of the US populace? Or are you coming from a different direction that instead claims that the US is a meritocracy?

[@FloorItDuh]

​​@@Tahozahistory is a simple teacher. Your dataset is incomplete. When you excessively tax the rich they leave and take their money along with their businesses away with them leaving you stuck where they are. There is a global competition to lure rich people away from other nations so as to establish businesses elsewhere to the benefit of the other country. The real problem is taxes are too high period no matter who you are. Greed of the individual, greed of the companies, greed of the government, greed of the banks and investors. That is the problem. Everyone wants as much as the pie as they can take without putting in the work to bake the pie so you get all the groups fighting. Those with the lever of power win, those without it lose. Instead of tearing another group down why don't we just work together for the betterment of all like we used to out of a sense of duty, obligation, and community? You know, the things that build a nation. The government is too big. Shrink the government, shrink the taxes, shrink the welfare, put that money back in people's pockets instead of robbing them of what they produce.

[@FeronTheRaccon]

When im stuck in 10s of thousands of dollars in student loan debt unable to get the life I was promised without the ability to buy a house of course I'm not going to want to have kids. As soon as a house comes up for sale its bought by a corporation who then rents it out to me using software that lets them collude with others to charge an insane price.

[@joefer5360]

Did you know the renouncing of citizenship is sometimes cheaper than the total college tuition debt. I had one friend who cleared his student debt by renouncing his citizenship. He's now planning to re-apply to become a US citizen.

[@antinatalistwitch111]

​@@joefer5360ohhhhh sounds great

[@frankbutler7109]

Ha Ha

[@LauraSnow-in3nx]

Right?!

[@222toastedtoasters3]

why dose every problem begin 2007, and its solution fuck me over personally

[@dasbubba841]

Because 2007-08 was basically the end of the post-Cold War era of optimism. The idea that everyone was steadily getting wealthier through improved technology and global trade. The US government HAD to bail out the banks. The alternative was a repeat of the Depression. However, by bailing out ONLY the banks, the common Joe got poorer while the haves accumulated massive amounts of assets. Assets that largely existed only on paper and were not reflective of the real economy.

[@tHebUm18]

It really began during Reagan. It only came home to roost that we entrenched a system of infinitely growing wealth for the rich (who, also, got very very very rich from the '08 crash) and lower/middle class all being squeezed into poverty after an economic meltdown dramatically sucked wealth from the poor to the rich. Then the pandemic did it again and that's why suddenly things have gotten dramatically worse again in such a short amount of time. The system is rigged so the rich can never lose and every economic crisis they will win more and more until common folks have literally nothing.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

How ironic that I graduated and got my high school diploma in 2007 lol it's crazy how things have shifted

[@DeadDancers]

God has it out for you.

[@skylinefever]

​@@dasbubba841no they did not HAVE to. The economy was going to suck anyway.

[@s.e.n3264]

I hate living here. Why would I raise children in this hellscape? That's child abuse.

[@summess5567]

SO true... And the mnore people there are, the more they have to compete for food and living space - even to get about in crowded streets... Plus, the more Workers there are, the more they compete for work, so the less Value thay have, so their wages go down, so they are poorer. In the Middle ages, the workers (Serfs) had NO bargaining posituion (no Unions) ... they were literaly property, attatched to the Land owned by the Lord. The Black Death kiolled a quarter of the population - sudenly workers were valuable... they formed the Peasants Revolt and nearly established a Commonwealth for all, in which everyone was given a decent standard of living. Sadly Richard II killed the leader so... all that happened was that they got their Freedom and the right to move about the country to sell their labour... and so, in C15th, the Middle Class and Social Mobility was born. Scarcity Value.... If workers are plentiful, they're 'disposable'. That's why the Bosses love workers to keep breeding.

[@talkingfinger5758]

Aj ne seri

[@mapleleaf3803]

Feel free to leave. ✌️

[@s.e.n3264]

@mapleleaf3803 Working on it, but it's expensive. can you send me some funds to speed up the process???? Edit: you probably won't, so stfu and leave me alone, don't feel like dealing with your hateful ass. if you're not going help, or if you're gonna be an asshole about it, then leave me be.

[@kitsunephantom6155]

@@mapleleaf3803 I wish I was as stupid as you. Seems like a simple existence.

[@MikeCrain]

lol well I guess our army will have to do a draft again, because a senator outright admitted students owing debt was its most powerful tool to recruit people.

[@thesenate1844]

How long till South Korea does a "birth draft" for women?

[@prettyboyjeremy]

​@@thesenate1844Probably not long but I see either A. Lots of women leaving or B. Telling them they can't pick this man because Gene pool problems.

[@adamy4435]

Tuition fee is ripple off when pp can’t get reasonable job

[@enhancedutility266]

​@@thesenate1844probably in the next 5 to 10 years That's about the same time frame that Japan has said that if they don't get a handle then other measures might be implemented

[@Zymandis]

The young men fucking hate this place. There would be revolution. No one is signing up to protect these old politicians and women who scorn the average man.

[@zwatwashdc]

It just isn’t a mystery. Parenthood is discouraged at every turn. If those who rule wanted you breeding the incentive structure wouldn’t look like this.

[@ladyeowyn42]

Yes, capitalism is hostile to parenting.

[@bornstar481]

@@ladyeowyn42how many people will suffer so that corporations and the super wealthy can get richer and richer

[@jonedvinz]

They want us to breed, they just dont want to help us do it *cough* roevwade *cough*

[@GameFuMaster]

@@ladyeowyn42 yeah, because capitalism is the only system with people in charge telling you what to do. hurr durr

[@FireThemAll]

🎯

[@DeadDancers]

“Kids have changed from wealth-generating assets to expensive projects to manage” lol

[@SnoopCatts]

The reason for the declining birth rate is obvious. The smartphone. 2007 is when the first iPhone debuted and people are more concerned with having a relationship with their cell phone then a sexual relationship with people of the opposite sex

[@tshields7985]

And now the wolves are crying because the sheep aren’t breeding

[@denisdenak]

People who steal comments are so cringe

[@vcrsalesman2606]

One correction; the US birth rate fell below replacement for the first time in the early 1970s, briefly rising above it again in the 2000s before the current decline. This is worth noting because the aging of America is a gradual process.

[@TheStretch35]

The loss of community is another good reason too. 2007 was right around the time cellphones and technology really started to kick off and become super mainstream. People don't get together for as many community events anymore because why would they? Friend groups and social groups have moved to the digital stage to where you don't have to.

[@Shineynsparkles]

No our elderly parents and neighbors are working till 68-70

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

@TheStretch35 Cellphones and technology have allowed people (especially me) to be MORE connected to people. Stop making every personal experience a fucking "trend".

[@lazy747unitedairlines]

it’s not that, it’s bad urban planning in America. these are problems in Europe as well but are negated by good urban planning and social policies, things the USA should have

[@fixxundfertig]

​@@theultimatereductionist7592 we're more connected but also less. The quality of communications has dropped.

[@nightwishisthegreatestband6355]

But Europe is also facing a birth rate crisis ​@@lazy747unitedairlines

[@cbyrne08]

For me the key word was autonomy. I didn't become an autonomous adult until I was 30 years old. By the time I graduated college, and paid off the student loans I finally had the financial resources to feel like an autonomous adult. Then the choice was ok now that I've earned my autonomy and found a partner do I want to give up my autonomy again to be a parent? For me it was an easy no.

[@realdreamerschangetheworld7470]

Understandable

[@thebestcentaur]

Completely understandable

[@RK-cj4oc]

How does becoming a parent deny you your autonomy? I agreed with the first part of your comment but the 2nd one is kinda BS in my opinion.

[@henrytep8884]

Peter Pan syndrome. There’s nothing that excludes your autonomy when you are having a family. In fact the best part of being human is the relationships and connections you build with one another and the depth of those relationships matter.

[@TheRockerX]

​@@RK-cj4ocit's even more BS to pretend having kids doesn't negatively impact your autonomy.

[@jonnygraham2372]

Too many people have looked at the reality of the world and said “ do I really want to put a child through this? To reproduce just for my ego?” The answer from me is no.

[@mannboogie3394]

Your parents took a dump on you😂❤

[@jasonhertzberg4818]

This is so well put. I’m 32 and think of my time in the workforce. I don’t want to make a kid go through this

[@samone951]

THIS IS THE ONE ☝🏾

[@jonnygraham2372]

@@jasonhertzberg4818 it hasn’t been worth it, I want better for the next generation. Not worse

[@mrgalaxy396]

I don't think that's the case, the reality is people see children as a burden they don't want to put up with. The whole "if I can't give them a good life I don't want to give them a life at all" mentality is not about minimizing the child's suffering, it's to minimize their own. There's some nutcases who are total anti-natalists who would cheer at humanity ceasing to exist in the next few decades, but most people do in fact want humanity to persevere beyond today, even if it means going through the hard times. It's just that no one wants _their_ kid to be the one in a generation of struggles, just how they don't want their kid to be the one doing the hard back-braking work that everyone can acknowledge is necessary for society to function. Add in to the fact it's easier than ever to mitigate the natural incentive to procreate (sexual desires) with contraceptives and abortions, as well as remove any social pressures (like religion and the glorification of careers, hedonism and independence) that acted as incentives to procreate and you end up with this mess. Oh and the only reason why this natural dip after an anomalous rise to 8 billion in just a single century is even seen as a bad thing is because "it will be bad for the economy", which is again hardships that will affect the currently living. And god forbid anyone has to go through any hardships. If you want to talk about ego, go look into a mirror. Living has never been easy for the vast majority of the human race in history, if we thought we should give up when things look rough we would've been gone a long time ago and you wouldn't have gotten to enjoy "the good old days".

[@beautifulpeopleonearth]

Housing crisis, health crisis, cost of living crisis, debt crisis, inflation crisis, EU war crisis, middle East crisis. How many crises can a koala bear? I'm approaching retirement with comfortable millions, yet scared of a banking crisis. Where do I best grow my money?

[@justlikeasoldier]

Diversify… T bills, CDs, Gold, Stocks, Municipal bonds, Bitcoin, Real estate, etc assets speak when cash has no value

[@verycautiouspersona]

I would advise the counsel of a seasoned financial pro. It may be expensive, but as the old saying goes "You get what you pay for." "Expert solutions require Expert providers" - my mantra.

[@everceen]

Truth is, investing with the help of a financial advisor set me up for life, retired as a millionaire at 55. I worked hard everyday as a teacher for 32 years, and my salary was over 100k annually. But if it wasn't for 2020 covid lockdown, I wouldn't have supplemented my income with stocks and alternative investments.

[@garrickphillips-x1z]

@@everceen bravo! I've worked in real estate for over 25 years and have neglected a major stock portfolio, however I need a different plan now... mind if I look up the professional guiding you please?

[@everceen]

Annette Louise Connors is the licensed advisor I use. Just google the name and you’d find necessary deets. To be honest, I almost didn't buy the idea of letting someone handle growing my finance, but so glad I did.

[@kasebuttram9542]

Also is the fact that a lot of young people realized college isn’t worth it 75% of the time

[@bmanagement4657]

Be more specific. There are many initially profitless endeavors that both greatly benefit society and have no accepted place in short-sighted, profit-driven capitalism. Social science reached its end when it declared white collar labor to be the biggest problem, and obstacle to human endeavor.

[@flagmichael]

@@bmanagement4657 I was looking for a career in electronic troubleshooting and repair. By the end of high school I was licensed operate and maintain any civilian transmitter in the USA and her territories, as well as shipboard radar. I began a career in avionics, later moving to communications field services in a Fortune 100 electric company. Even if it had cost nothing I would have lost years in school for negligible gain.

[@lynettetaravella2578]

Some young people do realize that college simply isn't worth it. I'm a divorced mother of 2 teenagers. My oldest child (an 18-year old son) will most likely attend either a trade school or community college after graduating high school. He doesn't want to incur a high student debt.

[@MeGawOOt99]

I don't see the point of giving money when the cost is still too high. What is the point of giving like $2000 for every newborn when the cost for rent like doubled and tripled in areas. Most incentives are literally a drop in a bucket in terms of help. If they truly want to help they can say, don't pay taxes on your 4th child.

[@makisekurisu4674]

And if you give that 2000 the rent is just gonna increase

[@augusthoglund6053]

@@makisekurisu4674 Well, not as long as more housing is built.

[@zwatwashdc]

2000 wouldn’t even come close to covering birth costs. Just to give birth in the US can cost 50,000 or more. And you never know until the deed is done. Complications? Oops, you owe 100,000$.

[@DeadDancers]

They think people are stupid enough to take $2,000 in exchange for onboarding hundreds of thousands in costs.

[@makisekurisu4674]

@@zwatwashdc I agree, you need to breakl the insurance monopolies first

[@DJ-jq5rh]

A sheet of plywood is $75-$100. A sheet of drywall is $15-$25. Can someone explain to me why these matchbox homes are priced at half a million dollars? Amortization is nearly, or well above a million dollars? Would you buy a $100 coffee?

[@AmyOrlando-ds6ok]

The housing crisis will be better in the next 15-25 years when all the baby boomers who bought their housing for 7 raspberries will pass, giving way for new generations.

[@yucol5661]

If you are forced to buy a coffee and told coffees’s will only get more expensive, then yes I’d buy a 100$ coffee

[@FazeParticles]

@@yucol5661 forced how? gun to head?

[@BangersAndMash98]

​@@FazeParticlesYou can't survive outside year-round in most of the world. If your options are "buy this or freeze to death" how much of a choice do you really have?

[@FazeParticles]

@@BangersAndMash98 that makes you or parts of society a slave or hostage.

[@ncpolley]

"Its the economy, stupid."

[@ShieldAre]

It isn't the economy per se, it is a mistmatch between the economy and cultural expectations between the economy and one's desire to have children. In a lot of poor countries, people still have a lot of children, because they don't have culturally set economic requirements for when you are ready to have children. They simply have children if they want them, without questioning whether their economic situation is good enough for that. Whereas in most rich countries, people have a cultural belief that they need to be economically comfortable before they can have children, and therefore don't have them if they feel they aren't in the perfect situation. Of course, that makes sense: We want our children to have a good life, so we want to wait until the circumstances are right. But that requires for the circumstances to be set right, which may be impossible if expectations are too high, which leads to low birth rates, which leads to demographic problems, which guarantees the circumstances are never right.

[@guppy719]

If it is then the problem is people having too much money. Poorer people and poorer countries generally have more kids.

[@CaesarMonzaro123]

@@guppy719you’d make a great CEO Lmaoo

[@Klako-ls6yt]

@@ShieldAre In addition to that, people in wealthier countries have better access to contraception than people in poorer countries. Accessible contraception is what makes it possible for people in wealthier to decide when they're ready to have children. Even if someone in a poorer country isn't ready to have kids, if they don't have contraception options, they're more likely to end up with an unplanned pregnancy.

[@lSeKToRl]

Economy is fine it is real income of the middle class. It has not increased since the 70s.

[@offthetrail5675]

Have two young kids. It's expensive yes, but the part I've struggled with most is the absolute loss of 90% of my time and energy. Hobbies, pursuits, friends, exercise etc all fall to last place on the priority hiarchy after kids. Am I selfish? yes, but you only have one chance at living a good life. I'm not sure kids are for everyone.

[@ItcHSniping]

You bring up a good and common point, but I would pause and reflect on what the meaning of life truly is. Is the meaning of life to buy as much as we can? Some academics might say so (most people seem to think it). Is it to just fish all day and eat a meal before sleeping for 8 hours? Every uncle might think so haha. In all seriousness though, does the meaning of life center around laziness or comfort? Or is it in the sacrifices of ourselves to something greater that we can feel that accomplishment? Think about this in the limited time you have and this might help you realize the true meaning of life: you might realize it isn't the materialistic (and selfish) "meaning" that we've been taught and conditioned as a consumerist society, but perhaps one that does involve sacrifice (like the ones our parents gave to us) and humanity. Another question to ask is: why are people the richest they have ever been and yet having fewer kids? Think about an average family in the 1800s: complete poverty yet they had many kids. Just something to think about: I'm not making an argument. Hope all is well!

[@hq1082]

Kids are not for everyone, some people want to live their life with the freedom to explore and see new things. It's not a selfish sentiment it's a human one.

[@victoriablack2093]

Shows how narcissistic people have become.

[@mejuliie]

​@@victoriablack2093that's bs. people haven't become more narcissistic, they have just learned that sharing their struggles doesn't make them bad people. I guarantee you that every person that goes from being childless to having children will struggle with the issues op described. second thing it shows that you clearly don't have children or friends with children that openly talk about their struggles.

[@mejuliie]

You aren't selfish. Majority of parents experience the feelings you do at one point or another. It's completely normal and valid. Doesn't mean you love your children any less. Also, a healthy amount of selfishness is needed to make sure we take care of ourselves and survive.

[@zwatwashdc]

The US is one of the least fun places in the world. Everything costs a lot of money and communities have very little in terms of safe public recreation. People just work, eat and worry. Kids don’t really even play outside anymore.

[@ARandomDonut]

Negative nancy over here. I deliver mail and I would need like 6 hands to count all the kids I saw playing outside today. I think you're hanging out in the wrong places.

[@mrconfusion87]

​@@ARandomDonutBut what about the fun places where adults can meet, hook up, and stuff?

[@ARandomDonut]

@@mrconfusion87 We have those too. I live in a moderate sized city, so we don't have as many here, but big cities have lots of those.

[@PeteQuad]

LOL that's ridiculous. Tell your kids to go outside.

[@zachkennedy8812]

You missed the part about all the inequality. RAND found that the top 1% took away 50 trillion dollars of wage-adjusted earnings from 1970-2020. One income used to be enough and now two isn’t enough. Workplace equality is good but the lack of class consciousness, and low union membership isn’t. It’s almost like the corporations that influence every facet of our lives only care about shareholders and short term growth, and no interest in the number of children people want to have but aren’t.

[@RsSooke]

Society has been rapidly degenerating into a hyper individualistic, dystopian, unaffordable hell scape. People can’t see starting families because they’re likely burdened by debt, an exhausting work schedule, tiny housing units, etc. Most people I meet in their 20s and 30s are child free, if they live in expensive, large metro areas where the best jobs are. The growth and development of families and communities has been stunted severely in so many places. Many people hit back at this explaining how they are child free by choice. That’s fine, but how many had that choice made for them?

[@prettyboyjeremy]

Vast majority. Wasn't something like 80% of kids are unplanned. I know I was definitely unplanned

[@YeahYeahBeebisI]

Agreed Plus, imagine being mad at individuals not having kids, while defending the hyper-individualist capitalism of corporations. If you tell people "No one owes you anything", don't expect to get anything back.

[@chico9805]

Using terms like "child-free" doesn't help the situation.

[@badabing3391]

calling it hell and dystopian is a bit of a stretch, but i dont disagree with the point

[@PeruvianPotato]

​​@@badabing3391I mean it is kind of dystopian to see people WILLINGLY devote their entire lives to a corporation that probably won't even remember them after their death

[@Brambrew]

I can't afford modern lofty dating standards, let alone kids

[@GameFuMaster]

neither can you afford lofty divorce fees either, let alone child support

[@plasterofparisify]

Better of being single imo Put that money into that which makes you happy

[@KamBar2020]

Never Say NEVER 😎 Justin Bieber

[@jonatand2045]

​@@plasterofparisify Everyone has that bright idea, which leads to demographic collapse. Fortunately it looks like automation will foot the bill one way or another.

[@yeetboi268]

we should legalize child labor as an incentive to be a parent

[@rmidifferent8906]

I think governments underestimate impact housing has on everything. Everyone needs a place to live - so it affects every single person in a country. Everyone needs to pay for it - increase in those costs cosntitute a huge impact on savings and general financial situation of the entire population. It is one of the most direct way to judge someone's quality of life. High quality apartment can make your life good, while low quality crumbling one can make you miserable. If countries could just build more low cost decent quality apartments everything would be better. Saving more or being able to spend more in an instant improvement

[@Praisethesunson]

But if you had access to quality low cost apartments how could landlord extract the maximum amount of profit out of you?

[@JoshMathewsofficial]

Housing is the everything problem. Nearly all our modern issues stem from it.

[@franciscocabrera8605]

You're being naive artificial intelligence and robots will make humans obsolete the workers will be unemployed no money no honey Universal income will be a joke they can't even fix Social Security it's going to get ugly it's going to get very ugly there will be riots in the streets for food and water so I'll just leave you with a joke and that is my daddy told me that if it's got wheels or titties it's nothing but trouble😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😮😮😮😮

[@Rob-e2v]

Your solution isn't going to work. There is no low cost housing. Anything short of a ragged leaking tent is $1,200 a month.

[@summess5567]

Yep. Democratic Socialist countries like Finland, Denm,ark, Sweden etc have very little poor housing or homelessness... it's all nicer for everyone and everyone gets to contribute to Society. The USA and India are awash with homelessness... who somehow never make it to the 'News'. They stuick to their areas and are invisible.... their lives are a living hell and yet they actualy cost a lot fo 'Control'.

[@zeldamonroe4321]

America has a "birth rate crisis" South Korea : here hold my soju

[@Crystal-ho7so]

Right on, mate!!😆😅🤣🤣😂👍💯

[@USEismydream]

Well it's actually every industrialized country. I think Israel is one of the only countries that doesn't face the problem with its birthrates. And that's what I always say when people act like this is just an result of bad politics- it doesn't.

[@turritopsisrockola]

​@@USEismydreamwell I'm from El Salvador, not exactly industrialized. Our population is 6 million and the projections tell us we're going to be less than 2 million by 2100. Nobody in my friend group has kids and we're past 30

[@USEismydream]

@ Kinda surprising, do you know the fertility rate? And is that just El Salvador or also happening in other south American countries? Very interesting. But tf haha, from 6 to 2? Are you sure with the numbers? Seems insane haha.

[@reginaldpasao8390]

Philippines: LOL. LMAO even.

[@merevial]

2007 was the end of the real economy.

[@randomnobody8770]

Real (net of inflation) median income is up ~10% since 2007.

[@merevial]

@@randomnobody8770 Let me see rent and housing costs.

[@teaadvice4996]

Keep believing government statistics. U also believe unemployment is 2% right?​@randomnobody8770

[@JosTheMan1]

Yeah. As much as public debt has risen, the business and individual debts seem to gorn even more. Even if its so called sustainable debt, how long can it go, and how much of our economic growth is that, is a scare thought. The next crash will be immense

[@donaldheath4415]

2007 was a correction…not the end of the real economy. Mortgages were handed out like candy to those who couldn’t afford them. I agree that the correction was too extreme and construction of new housing has never recovered. But pre 2007, the economy was not real. A true bubble built on subprime mortgages. Your sentiment still stands though, and we need to incentivize new housing construction via tax incentives and regulation/zoning rollback.

[@King_Gamer_1st]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but that Gallup poll asking "How many kids is right for a family to have?" is not the same as "How many kids do you want to have?". I think most people will answer like it's a hypothetical family and not a direct question about themselves and their own family plans. Someone's not going to answer "none" just because they don't want kids - then nobody would be born lol. Also, it's safe to assume that, to most, "family" means the traditional family unit of a couple + child(ren), not only a couple and, say, a pet.

[@caitlinweiss8801]

That's a good point

[@uhohhotdog]

I would answer as my own and answer none.

[@jaykay5142]

I also found that strange. I think the wording was intentionally messed up to give bias to the answer they wanted, there's no other explanation in my mind. Seems obvious.

[@originaltturtles]

Imagine the comments on this one are only gonna get more deranged as time goes on

[@EasternDreamer615]

💯 complete with fedposting

[@shakachoarroyo]

It's already just screaming "WE CAN'T AFFORD TO!" Like, did you watch the video?

[@danjager6200]

​@@shakachoarroyo not yet actually. After the clown show that was the recent Apple video, and the captain obvious that was the one after that, I decided to read the comments before watching the video.

[@PeruvianPotato]

Just excuses after excuses after excuses. I'm convinced that people genuinely think that devoting their entire lives to a corporation is the new normal now

[@poetryflynn3712]

@@PeruvianPotato It is all excuses. Nobody cared about their wealth before the Great Depression. They had kids anyway. But, this has been seen before. This is exactly how Rome collapsed slowly - no one wants to work the farms, have immigrants do it. People would rather be educated to do artistic activities instead of productive activities. The upper class would grow obscenely wealthy while everyone else increasingly impoverished.

[@AveragePakistaniChild]

fun fact: kids cost a lot of money, in fact they cost around $1,000,000 over the course of an 18 year period from birth to graduation

[@solracer66]

That’s also not factoring the lost income if one spouse doesn’t work full time because of the children.

[@urielsanchez767]

Holy shit your telling me I'm worth a million dollars?

[@mjesns77]

that is really high. studies show it’s more around 300-400 k per kid

[@squirrel670]

​@@mjesns77true. But 18 just can't cut it anymore because they need to be raised reasonably until they can self sustain. Now many more adult children are returning to their parents home after college.

[@baronvonjo1929]

Would like to have kids, but I just dont see how I could give them a better life than I have now. I can't afford a house. I can barely maintain my mediocre life. There is no time, space, or money for kids. So many hurdles but no solutions. Well except money. I could have a kid and wing it. But I want a better life for a kid than that. But again, I have no way of ever giving my kids the life I would want for them. I couldn't afford the clothes, toys, or future bigger purchases like a car or such. So at this rate there wont be kids on the horizon. It all really comes down to money for me personally. I feel like Ill be pretty lonely when I am a old fart and have no family. But just cant afford it and its doubtful I ever will. I dont even know a good area to have a kid. As mentioned in the video I have to basically be a helicopter parent. The kid cant walk anywhere. Because its all suburbs and a aprtment in a city sounds awful. I definitely have a fear of messing it all up too. Everything keeps getting worse. My life and various countries just keep getting worse worse and worse. I know 500 years ago people didnt even know if the kid would survive childhood. Or if sickness or famine would come. They had a lot less too. But I am thinking that far ahead. And so far its pretty bleak. Also things like appliances, cars, and houses cost more than ever but the quality, durability, and reliability is lower than ever. The new homes they build out of cheap wood and no yard space and a dystopian look isnt at all a option for me or any kids to live in. I dont want that house to be falling apart after 5 years. And cars are such a hassle nowadays. Tiny engines with turbos and giant bodies and so much tech. There are all sorts of things to point at like decline in mental health, cultural degradation, corporations milking everything, the towns or cities we live in, time, individualism etc etc

[@7black151]

This genuinely is the reality multiple people not just you face Just praying it all works out for you

[@Ravi9A]

mere pessimism.

[@gbubbiu]

Do you think the barefoot child in Africa rather be dead than have toys and extracurricular sports?

[@realdreamerschangetheworld7470]

@@gbubbiu While I am not anti-natalist, the children you’re referring to really did not have a choice regardless. Child mortality rates are also unfortunately higher, regardless.

[@langhamp8912]

I think it's really easy to have a kid. You just date and don't tell them your real name.

[@Croz89]

I must admit the suburb idea confuses me. Low density suburbs in the US aren't new, they've been ubiquitous since the 50's. This was also the period of a massive expansion in road infrastructure. Cars were cheap and the domestic industry was at a high point around the middle of the century. Kids still rode their bikes around the neighborhood though, and took the bus to school or walked/biked if they were close enough. So what really changed, the suburbs themselves or the culture around them?

[@catprog]

Who pays to maintan the existing suburbs as well.

[@redcoltken]

Both!

[@marcroberts5251]

Thanos is pleased.

[@AladdinElrouby]

well... we just stumbled upon pictures of my in-laws when they were our age. mid 30s. they had 2 kids ages 10 and 8 and they had a single family detached house and they had their eyes on a second house. they are both high school graduates (no college) and they took a vacation abroad every 2 years and had 2 cars and were saving up for their retirement (now) and moved to the new house and bought a trailer and setup a vacation destination with it. the dad worked full time and the mom worked from home (selling products to her girlfriends) now me and my wife are mid 30s, both holding degrees and both have 8 years of work and work 2 jobs and are juggling either to afford rent or save for retirement or save for a vacation or save for a house (since we still rent) so yeah we would love to have babies but the math doesn't add up. we don't have debt, and still can't afford kids.

[@480darkshadow]

That was a more conservative era with conservatives policies, very racial regresssive and homophobic. Progressivism prefers it people beholden to the whims of corporations economically but socially validated.

[@AladdinElrouby]

@@480darkshadow okay! You just said a bunch of words and I literally don't understand any of them, sorry. Can you please explain your point simply, thank you 😄 I am actually interested to know

[@arowace498]

​@@AladdinElroubythey literally can't because what they said doesn't make any sense. Corporations and rich people skew much more conservative and poor populations are more likely to be progressive. The only way I could see progressives as "beholden to corporations economically" is if you literally don't know anything. Deregulation? Conservatives and corporation. Social security and ubi? Progressives. Just??? What.

[@williamlouie569]

So what happened, what changed that destroy that good old living standard?

[@careyfreeman5056]

It's not a crisis yet for us, but it is for S. Korea, China, Germany, Russia and a lot of others. We still have a couple decades before it hits crisis.

[@kfnwuwbw9s]

It already is a crisis for us. There are not enough jobs for young people. Wages are also low, and the rise of social media has caused young adults to flock to the best jobs and colleges. We are already at a time where life is dangerously competitive like how it is in China and Korea, and it's only going to get worse as the top US schools get even more competitive. You cannot say we are decades away from crisis, because the low birth rate is the aggregate effect of all of these other crises. I could not care less about low birth rates when people today cannot even afford to live.

[@careyfreeman5056]

@@kfnwuwbw9s dude, none of this makes any sense, nor is any of it relevant to the point I'm making.

[@FictionHubZA]

Japan has been living in this crisis since the 60s. It only began to be serious around 1990.

[@qam2024]

Japan and South Korea are fine, eventually they will bottom out and reach an equilibrium, and when that happens Japan will still be Japanese, Korea still be Korean, meanwhile the United States and Europe will be square root of nine world countries.

[@FictionHubZA]

@@qam2024 The assumption that it will stop is what I find hard to believe. Rock-bottom can also have a basement. There could also be a mine shaft in the basement.

[@himedft]

The most important thing that everyone should think about now is how to invest in different sources of income that do not depend on the state.especially considering the current real estate cryptocurrency market,stocks,NFTs and forex are good area to explore thanks Mrs Sophia for coaching me

[@FirstnationalBank-om4qc]

Wow that's awesome

[@FirstnationalBank-om4qc]

Sophia she's my mentor already

[@Michael-xe7xo]

Wow. I'm a bit perplexed seeing her been mentioned here also Didn't know she has been good to so many people too this is wonderful, I'm in my fifth trade with her and it has been

[@salah.3034]

🇺🇸Isn't this the same woman Sophia that my neighbors are talking about, she must be a perfect expert for people to talk so well about her.

[@Benjamin.365]

It is really refreshing to see a comment about Sophia I have worked with her also. her approach consistently keeps you ahead of the trend, She's the best i'll say..

[@11rs11]

Its very risky for us women to have children and be stay at home moms. The financial risk to depend on one person who may leave you or no longer want to stay in a committed relationship with you is frightening and unwise.

[@ToddTinley]

With great risk comes great reward.

[@singleproppilot]

Reality check: As a father of three and a sole breadwinner, I know damn well that my wife holds my entire financial well-being in her fickle, emotional hands. If she leaves, she’s taking the kids and 70 percent of my income with her, and I can’t afford to live on 30 percent. That’s the only reason I’m still here after years of her broken promises and infidelity. It’s just too expensive to leave.

[@LarryWater]

@@singleproppilot It’s better to be divorce than to stay with a wh*re.

[@11rs11]

@singleproppilot Reality Check: I was the stay at home Mom for 4 years for our autistic toddler and infant. I was the one cheated on while pregnant with our second boy. I've separated with NOTHING to my name. I had a paid off car in my name (that he totaled) and mostly debt free before marriage. Now that I'm gone, I'm heavily in debt shared with my soon-to-be ex-husband. I should also mention, for stay at home Moms, having such a long resume employment gap will bite our ass in the end. It is so much harder now to find work even though I have a college degree in aviation maintenance, which doesn't do well with employment gaps. 4 years of an employment gap, 4 years of not contributing to my own 401K or retirement fund. I wouldn't recommend being a stay at home parent to men or women. It's not worth the financial risk.

[@LarryWater]

It has always been risky.

[@Pan_Z]

People seem to rationally base this on poor economics & housing, but... that's really not true. Even when several countries were doing well economically, birth rates declined. * Japan was projected to overtake America when its economy was roaring in the 1980's. Birthrates declined. * America's economy was booming in the 1990's. Birthrates declined. * Many Eastern European countries saw unprecedented growth after the fall of the USSR. Birthrates declined. There's been a fundamental move away from the perception of family as the primary social unit, and more of a focus on individualism. That's not to discount economic factors (surely it's impeded some people from having families), but they're not everything.

[@towerprep45]

Japan can be explained by work culture. There’s an intense societal pressure to work hard and succeed, including by doing overtime, working yourself to the point of exhaustion, hanging out with your boss after work… when do people date and have kids of all they do is work?

[@comradesillyotter1537]

Even the focus on family was done to subsumed the COMMUNITY - to dismantle the social state and it's obligations Why do you think Reagan and Thatcher were all pro family? Undercut community as a whole

[@LilliD3]

The problem is that it is most likely many factors. And all of them need to be adressed for birthrates to rise. I believe the factors to be: the housing crisis, high rates of inflation, stagnant wages, entry level job shortage, expensive collage that requires a loan to participate, the rise of social media and the rise of parasocial relashionships preventing people from finding partners, social expectations for partners changing and women haveing higher expectations for their partners, social expectation of people needing to have kids changeing and that leading people to want to have kids less, the expectation of haveing to be an active parent bacomeing more intense leading to it being more draining to be a parent, the lack of societal support for parents and children to stop them from falling behind in the work force and the degradation of the village. If all of those factors are not adressed, the birth rates will continue to fall. The problem with basically all government policy is that it only adresses a few of these problems and doesn't touch other ones. I have yet to see a government that has successfully tackled all or even most of these problems.

[@lugi25]

I agree. Less focus on the family structure( which is very important, even the Bible says how important it is) and more on your own "happiness" or dreams. They sold everyone a lie, so they can make a lot of money.

[@denisl2760]

@@towerprep45 don't have time to screw when you're spending all your time getting screwed by your job

[@unitedskiesunderthemoon]

Education and Housing is too expensive. Minimum Wages are not sufficient to meet minimum requirements to have even just a single kid. If your minimum wage cannot support a family, it is completely unacceptable. Paid Time off is still not a complete thing in the United States. People are left with less and less free time. Our government and corporations no matter how much they sell you the idea of change, they aren't going to provide the necessary reforms to repair this.

[@319Schum]

Why are Europe and Japan behind the US in birth rates? Government intervention seems to lower birth rates. Looking at the US states there seems to be a negative correlation between government intervention and birth rates.

[@augusthoglund6053]

I know pretty well a couple that left the U.S. for the express purpose of having kids. Every day they spend in Austria, they are more baffled as to why anyone qualifying for a visa would voluntarily stay in the U.S.

[@bornstar481]

The saddest part is that because they made everything so unaffordable for families they tax single people even more to give money to families. I have a friend at work and we both work 40 hours a week and earn 20 an hour, but I am taxed around 150 and him 50 dollars, he told me it was because he has a family but this taxing single wagies like me will just make it harder for me to have kids instead of taxing the extremely large and wealthy corporations and the rich ultra wealthy raking in record profits.

[@TheNewLooter]

money is a red herring. New money who are in top earning brackets are the most childless mfs on the planet

[@lugi25]

Personally, I see it more as a cultural thing, that ruined our views on happiness and family.

[@merrymachiavelli2041]

The bit at 15:15 could have done with a bit more mention of the _biology_ of having kids. If you're a woman, and you spend ages 20-32 getting educated, starting a career, dating and getting married, then that leaves you with about 6 years in which its relatively easy to have kids. Fertility drops pretty rapidly in your late 30s, and while _some_ can turn to technologies like IVF, this isn't likely to be done on a scale large enough to have a societally-relevant demographic impact. Having 1 or 2 kids in 6 years is doable, but more than that and you have to be pretty determined about it. At a large scale, delaying child-bearing reliably predicts fewer children being born.

[@notsojharedtroll23]

Anad add the fact that if you do concieve after that fertile margin, your child has a higher chance of gaining intellectual deficiencias that hinder their chances of wellbeing.

[@IhazNoPants]

One of the largest contributors I believe

[@colebehnke7767]

@@IhazNoPantsand what do you do about it then? Like are we seriously going to ban young woman from college?

[@Arkiasis]

Also having kids later increases the risk of children having mental disabilities and deformities and also screws the kids over by having their parents require care when they're elderly when those kids are supposed to be in their prime starting their own families.

[@Tahoza]

@@colebehnke7767 The same thing other countries do when younger working women want to have kids; make it reasonable for them to be able to do so.

[@joemomma1414]

This is a good thing. We don’t need more people! Every person contributes a lot of pressure in your resources and environment. We should focus on quality of life, that is the best metric of a society’s success.

[@Phosfit]

I hope they don’t try to increase teenage pregnancy as a solution but I feel they’d choose that over quadrupling financial stability. They’ve already chosen to take out abortion rights. They’re not taking positive routes.

[@ghost21501]

We are in a psychological depression in the West. No amount of financial stability will solve this issue.

[@augusthoglund6053]

While I agree financial stability won't raise birthrates back to historical levels on it's own, I still don't see any solution lasting and sustaining itself without financial stability.

[@prod.arcsyne2990]

well maybe if people could afford mental care, we wouldn't be in a psychological depression?

[@bikesrcool_1958]

Prod, mental care isn’t a large part of this. Our decadence and prosperity has caused this, and lack of religious participation. Religious people make more children, and many of our educational institutions and hospitals and charities are started by Religious people. We now have vastly separate ideas from back then, and that equals less children and mass depression

[@astrinymris9953]

@@prod.arcsyne2990 I think our horrible diet and lifestyle contributes to our depression, as does our unrelenting psychological stress. Having Third Spaces would help.

[@prod.arcsyne2990]

@@bikesrcool_1958 well that argument doesnt hold up because america is a mostly religious country already, and many of them are choosing not to have kids either if they cant support them. what if hear me out... we fixed the economy, establish workers right, fix healthcare especially womens health care, and fund and support mothers unconditionally. that way you can have ur weird baby fetish, and the rest of us can actually be able to support a family.

[@GhostAssault323]

Can't afford a kid if we can't afford our own life

[@randomkoreanguy]

I can't afford kids or a spouse. I have what was once considered a really good job that pays well, but I can't buy a house, let alone afford the bills for a family and children. I can only really afford to keep myself afloat and comfortable. So there you go. I have decent pay, really good benefits, but if I can't afford to do it on my level of pay (above the median/average) what about everyone below me on the pay scale? I just found out there's no school buses around here anymore. Are you kidding me? So if I have a kid, I need to somehow figure out how to get them to school and home again now too?? I start work at 7 am before the school day starts and finish after 5 well after it ends. How the hell does that work? Average home prices here (Los Angeles) are now approaching a million dollars. I could keep ranting about this but suffice it to say, I can't fix this as a solo individual. So I choose to just live my own life as best I can and let society live with the consequences of what we've wrought.

[@realdreamerschangetheworld7470]

@@randomkoreanguy I’m with you because this affects everybody, but I think your home being LA might be apart of the problem all on its own 😅 Edit: Fair point , it just shakes out that way sometimes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@randomkoreanguy]

@@realdreamerschangetheworld7470 Yeah, but this is where my job is so what can a guy do lol

[@midatlantic09]

To be fair, if you truly desire a spouse and children, why not consider moving somewhere in which that could easily be possible? Even an income of $40-50k a year can go very far in many other parts of the world, or if that doesn't sound appealing, there are still many areas within the US (smaller cities/towns with populations of 100k or less) where starting and maintaining a family is very possible on around $100k a year. Of course, this will likely require that you figure out how to generate your own income instead of relying on a large company to supply that for you.

[@baneofbanes]

@@midatlantic09because as he stated, his job is in LA. Moving. Is a very expensive and stressful thing to do, and an idiotic one if you don’t have a job lined up.

[@PeruvianPotato]

Meanwhile a random Muslim: Oops, just had our 6th kid

[@TheSapphireSprit]

We have 3 kids. The oldest is 40, the middle is 33 and our youngest is 30. I have one grandchild. My youngest, who works for Google so they are pretty well off. They expect to have one more. The oldest has no interest in kids, the middle can’t afford to have kids. They would have to sell their house, at a minimum, to be able to afford it. My oldest boys wife has one sister, no kids. I worry about the future with these kids. What’s interesting is we desperately need more affordable housing currently but at some point houses will be a dime a dozen as the population decreases.

[@abbeyna01]

I hope so. I would love a nicer house with a bigger yard

[@hamfistsman6267]

You'll never convince me this is a crisis. There are way too many people.

[@USEismydream]

So I live in a country where the situation is already way worse than in the US and it's not great tbh. Like yeah, I also think less people globally just makes sense and is even needed but if you see the consequence it brings for your own society you realize that it has many downsides.

[@lucycooper9149]

Pay hasn't kept up with inflation. Children are expensive. Birth control exists.

[@spacetoast7783]

@@lucycooper9149 it's the birth control, not the money

[@lucycooper9149]

@spacetoast7783 It's the interaction between the three things. Children used to be an inevitability following from sex (assuming that the couple were both fertile), now they're a choice to be made under the correct conditions. For reference, this is a good thing! Generations of unwanted children, or more children than a wage can support, should remain a thing of the past.

[@Marios-br1hm]

Because housing is insanly expensive. So you can't raise kids with these prices let along twins!!

[@TheGreatOne-gw7xh]

That's not the reason. Access to contraception and increasing numbers of educated women is the reason.

[@sniedendepoes]

Poor people have more kids. You’re just a manchild who doesn’t wanna grow up lol

[@ryanok1757]

Bro wtf are you saying, i didn’t understand a single word, from your comment, Are you even a American? you seems you are from some south american countries

[@Sinaeb]

@@ryanok1757 bro had to edit his comment bashing someone that missed a single e

[@TylerSolvestri]

Not only that, getting a job after a diploma is a really challenging thing to do, so this crisis is even more contradicting

[@karlklein2263]

Kids are expensive bruh. Fuck that

[@retroforager]

just so we're clear, the "cultural" explanation is also very much economic.

[@RealHorhay]

No it is cultural. Children are viewed as a burden and with abortion access it makes the prospect of children to be very low

[@jason4275]

75% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, just 2 paycheck away from poverty if you have a kid, all you're doing in having a kid while living in poverty.

[@Ziegfried82]

They are overspending for the most part. About 25% of Americans are actually in the poverty zone the rest just have zero clue how to budget or invest.

[@DummyUseless-er3dn]

People are being asked to fly less, drives less, eat less meat, move to electric cars irrespective of whether they like it, reusable cups, etc. Nothing wrong with it if people have a choice. So it looks like we are indeed overpopulated. Living is not just about bare sustenance. People want to live a comfortable life (not luxurious but not bare sustenance either)

[@augusthoglund6053]

Asked, but not required against their wishes.

[@Ziegfried82]

It's more overconsumption than overpopulation IMO. No the average American does not need to drive a giant truck or SUV. No the average American does not need to live in a gigantic McMansion. And most of the random crap Americans buy that are made in China are completely unnecessary.

[@xalspaero]

2000: I hope my teenager doesn’t get pregnant 2024: I hope my teenager gets pregnant

[@VAVORiAL]

If you hope your *teenager* gets pregnant, you're quite literally disgusting

[@unkono]

2050:?

[@Atreyufolife]

​@@unkono I'm getting my teenager pregnant.

[@loidforger6413]

Income inequality.... People know that they can't afford a child

[@MattH-l3i]

More like inflation and a country with too much debt

[@baneofbanes]

@@MattH-l3iso they can’t afford to raise children.

[@xiphoid2011]

wrong. Why do you think rich people are not having kids either? It's not all about income. People's habits have changed.

[@loidforger6413]

@@xiphoid2011 the vast majority of people are not rich, most of the so called rich are rich on paper, not on hard assets which gives them confidence of raising kids... Only the very affluent can think of kids without any negative consequences if they face hardships..

[@paveltyavin]

​@@xiphoid2011 agree. I'm 38 and for the whole of my life I didn't want kids. After my habits changed 2 years ago, I got a child.

[@TriagoZero]

I might have misunderstood, but the gallup survery/study was about based on the question "What do you think is the ideal number of children for a family to have?" right? That question is not the same as "How many children would you like to have?". If I were asked the first question, I would definitely answer 2, since I have a younger brother and y opinion is that growing up a single child is generally worse than having a sibling, whereas were I asked the second question, I'd say zero, since I have no desire to go through the process of raising a child, much less to have a child and offload the process of raising it, as a purely personal choice. Giving the source a cursory glance, it seems to me that they are pooling question A and arriving at conclusions as if they asked question B. Not that I disagree with the conclusions made in the survey article or the video, I think these are all correct, but I thought I might point that out and maybe get corrected in the process. Also, and this is a minor niptick in the grand scheme of things, but, @PolyMatter, please, improve your source document. As it is, it's a link soup. Something as simple as "brief title : link" would be more than enough to upgrade the doc from "barely the minimum effort to avoid plagiarism claims" to "a proper resource people can use". Just my opinion.

[@4spooky8u]

It was a pretty simple question

[@Nobody-pv9jt]

​@@4spooky8u why reply when you have nothing to add?

[@runningfromabear8354]

​@@4spooky8u simple question but unclear. I think the ideal family has 3 kids. Due to multiples and losinga childto cancer, we had 5. What's the ideal family siae? What size family would you like to have? Two very different questions.

[@eyeli160]

You do know that if you had just waited 3 minutes he would have pulled out the "How many children would you intend to have?" chart right? Or were you that desperate for a gotcha moment?

[@aidanwelch4763]

@@eyeli160 You misunderstood why he brought that up. The intended was not "how many kids would you want in a perfect world" it was "how many kids do you reasonably expect to have". @TriagoZero is right to point out that "ideal family size" nor "intended family size" == "ideal family size for you".

[@bidoof4938]

My motivation to be an active parent ISNT keeping up with the Joneses, It's about staying away from the iPad

[@badabing3391]

thats a relatively trivial task if you decide to actually be in the childs lifw

[@Croz89]

@@bidoof4938 Before iPads kids had TV's, game consoles, books, or just went and played outside. Parents in the past were probably less active than they are today. If anything I wonder if being too active is a bad thing, it doesn't teach a child autonomy or how to entertain themselves. But the iPad is just too potent, it's an overstimulation machine for toddlers with the likes of Cocomelon. Just replace it with some colouring books like your parents may have done with you, and that'll be fine.

[@Jose04537]

Also, been healthy for retirement.

[@jarjarbnks340]

The jones are broke

[@whitneyanders5945]

Well you need to be the change you want to see and get off the internet.

[@Toastcat890]

And it's about to get much much worse.

[@The_Horizon]

thats crazy, because im class of '25, that means applying to colleges this year may be the hardest college season to apply to in US HISTORY...

[@EntropyAndSingularity]

Oh no! How are you supposed to shut down the unfair Minecraft servers if Mojang doesn’t pay you?

[@TheBKnight3]

There's alot of children in foster homes for some reason

[@X3nophiliac]

its bc irresponsible people are gonna have kids irresponsibly. those type of people never leave a society

[@caitlinweiss8801]

Yup. I wouldn't feel right making more kids when we already have kids who need parents

[@RK-um9tu]

Kids in foster care has declined by 40-50% since the 80s...

[@milmex317th]

Mom and dad are in a for-profit prison. And when release mom and dad will owe the government child support. Lose lose mon and dad winwin government

[@thebestcentaur]

How does he always circle back to China?!

[@FictionHubZA]

All roads lead to Beijing. 😂

[@valuedcustomer94384]

Because the chinese are always blamed by these types of people.

[@Jose04537]

​@@FictionHubZAThe silk road.

[@Arkiasis]

Polymatter making a video without mentioning China challenge. Impossible.

[@doujinflip]

China wishes to be the Middle Kingdom again... well it's getting what it asked for.

[@LilliD3]

The problem is that there are most likely many factors for declining birth rates. And all of them need to be adressed for birthrates to rise. I believe some of the factors to be: the housing crisis, high rates of inflation, stagnant wages, entry level job shortage, expensive collage that requires a loan to participate, the rise of social media and the rise of parasocial relashionships preventing people from finding partners, social expectations for partners changing and women haveing higher expectations for their partners, social expectation of people needing to have kids changeing and that leading people to want to have kids less, the expectation of haveing to be an active parent bacomeing more intense leading to it being more draining to be a parent, the lack of societal support for parents and children to stop them from falling behind in the work force and the degradation of the village. If all of those factors are not adressed, the birth rates will continue to fall. The problem with basically all government policy is that it only adresses a few of these problems and doesn't touch other ones. I have yet to see a government that has successfully tackled all or even most of these problems.

[@MrLarrythehacker]

We as a country have proven that we aren’t interested in building more housing. So why would we want to have kids today?

[@aidanwelch4763]

I agree housing is a major factor, but I think a not insignificant factor is that having a kid requires a partner in the first place. And, I think starting around 2007 the internet drastically changed how a long term stable partnership happens.

[@VladLad]

Yeah feminism really destroyed women's happiness

[@aidanwelch4763]

@@VladLad Where did I say that?

[@Doublemonk0506]

​@aidanwelch4763 , don't worry, the dude's just an incel

[@mikederucki]

My grandparents raised four kids in a brand new single family home on .15 acre. My grandma stayed home with them and my grandpa was a semi truck driver. That’s the difference between then and now.

[@sulljason]

No it's something about feminism or something. /s Women should be forced to give me a child to ignore!

[@notgate2624]

I'm 27 and of the ~20 people in my friend group, nearly all of them are single and don't really even try to date. This group includes two different couples, neither of which could have their own children if they wanted to (tubes tied, gay couple). It is 100% a cultural issue from my standpoint. I hear people my age talk about money being the problem, but they're really just terrified of dating or don't care to. Most of them are financially well-off and could be doing some casual dating without issue, but they don't, so there's nothing to progress. Most people are scared to engage. Most people don't like the apps. Most people are too picky, and now have too many options, so they get paralyzed. Most people don't even know what their primary motivators should even be for dating.

[@haalel5765]

Your very last sentence is pure gold. There is no motivation to date.

[@Housewarmin]

This was a GREAT video. Most people think they know the answer, but this was very educational and informative.

[@sambistabeauty]

I always wanted kids. I just honestly never had a boyfriend. I only met men manipulating something called "dating" as a way to get free sex, not an actual relationship

[@thuglife-po5ys]

couldnt agree more im scared of men who constantly like sex sometimes their gay or have been touched

[@XxXVideoVeiwerXxX]

No one wants to admit we peaked culturally decades ago, economically the graphs may have gone up, sure stuff got cheaper, and sometimes better, but as of 2008 i think, its been a sham, cheaper price, but also far cheaper quality, expensive goods now matched average goods a decade plus ago. More stress and work needed, less housing options available...things have not been good, and idc what moron points at stats and says "but [insert year] was good" Sure whatever.

[@jimyoung9262]

This right here. It's not difficult to see. You just have to know history.

[@rodan2852]

I'm 34. I straight up couldnt afford a family even if I still cared to pursue having one. The cost of 1-2 divorces would just destroy any chance I have of getting out of this. This is survival and WOMEN are a liability to me, far more than children. Children want to help, they want to work and be taught skills. I can deal with children, but the women I have met are not strong enough to stay in it for the long haul. They would leave at the first recession like my mother did. They will already have a man on the side with a few more as backups if he doeant work out

[@That-Guy_]

Sounds like therapy would help you

[@sidboyplays7614]

Women are becomming more educated and not reliant on men to support them and having a baby and family isn't their priority. When I talk to a single woman their first line is "not interested" and I respect that.

[@falloutgirl2230]

Well said.

[@Crussell04]

Cringe

[@Jose04537]

There's no "labor shortage", there's a wage shortage.

[@Ziegfried82]

This is true. Greedy bastards should pay a fair wage if they want workers.

[@1101-f6z]

if you're gonna pay me 1980s pay i want 1980s housing.

[@spacetoast7783]

@@Jose04537 What a worthless statement lmao. At some point products and services become unviable if the labor to produce them is too expensive.

[@spacetoast7783]

@@1101-f6z Why would you work for 1980s pay? The rest of America has moved on.

[@Jose04537]

@@spacetoast7783 If you really think the mayority of the price increases is because of higher worker's wages, and not those millionaire bonus packages for CEOs and shareholder, then congrats, you drank their corporate kool-aid.

[@umarjongi3590]

I don't wanna pay for someone else's children. Remove the taxes already.

[@hannahpatten7226]

Life is a struggle. Why would I want to force someone to go through this?

[@jupiterthree5228]

I'll never forgive my mother for giving birth to me.

[@Sayid-al-Furat]

Antinatalism, how funny.

[@ericwang865]

Hey, is everything okay @hannahpatten7226

[@hannahpatten7226]

@jyuoq1 I mean you're right in the sense that if I was in a certain economic bracket and comfortable I would be more open to the idea. I would never bring someone into this world if it meant that they wouldn't be able to achieve their goals or would be placed in a life of economic hardship. I can barely afford myself. I will say that I am very happy not having kids and I won't regret it. I enjoy my peace and greatly dislike childcare (I worked as a teacher so I've been there and done that)

[@pahvi3]

​@jyuoq1 What on earth makes you think Extroversion is the key to enjoying life?

[@kageisuke]

That's the thing. My perfect number of children is 2. But *not for me*. I don't want children 😂

[@jaykay5142]

Yes I think the survey question is intentionally dishonest, meant to show a predetermined answer

[@JB-bb1bh]

Profanity, if i had Housing and healthcare that was 33% of what i pay now, I'll have a child soo fast it would be trivialized with all that extra cash.

[@umarjongi3590]

Why would any woman want to get married and have children? We are not idiots and now we have our own money and choice.

[@NottyGurlStyle]

Everything is so damn expensive. They want you to spend money to go to college, you go just to be in debt then can't get a job. The family landscape changed before you use to have help from parents or Aunts to help. Daycare is expensive as hell and jobs don't want to pay you more. as much as I would have like to have had another child...my mom passed while I was pregnant and I had to take care of everything for her...i was already in my early 30s so by the time I had my son..and working where i was it wasn't enough... Jobs barely want to give you enough time to be with your child... Its hard on everyone

[@howhigh0521]

I can afford it. Just need to lose my drinking problem and find a girl who wants me which turned out harder than a though working in construction surrounded by guys all day

[@That-Guy_]

If you have some time, a part-time job at a restaurant is a good idea and since it's not your main income, you can switch to another one if you don't see good dating options. Restaurant work is where I found my wife.

[@howhigh0521]

@@That-Guy_ hmmm that’s not a bad idea. I work monday-Friday 6am-2pm. Do you really think someone would hire me just for a Friday/Saturday shift?? Maybe I could serve or even bartend. When I used to work in the kitchen I definitely didn’t meat anyone but maybe I try to get to the front of the place where the people are

[@That-Guy_]

@@howhigh0521 Weekends are the busiest time so it shouldn't be hard to find a restaurant that needs weekend help. Yes, working a front-of-house position is best because you add customers to your target list. Some fast food / quick service restaurants could be good. I met my wife working drive-thru.

[@That-Guy_]

@@howhigh0521 Weekends are busy and many places need staff. Working in a customer facing position will increase your opportunities to meet people. Don't overlook some fast food in quick service jobs as they can be a good place to meet. I met my wife working drive-thru.

[@TengokuIkari]

Working in the front will also let you include customers in your search. If it's too busy it will detract from your goal as you will not have time to talk. Also don't overlook fast food restaurants, that's where I met my wife.

[@phantomvox]

My household income is 95K per year. In my country its good money cause is cheaper than US. We have just one child but can’t afford a second one. I cant imagine how Americans are surviving in US.

[@SoYappy]

Americans survive just fine. There are many struggling families just like anywhere in the world. A typical family here, make 2.5x of yours and send 2 kids to private school. You see, you can’t lump everyone into a bracket.

[@folkishappalachian6827]

I make the same amount in the USA, and you are correct. I have to live near a big city to do it, expensive. It is rough, but I provide for my wife and daughter the best I can.

[@rl7329]

You have a spending problem

[@Tahoza]

@@SoYappy If you're describing yourself here then you are not a typical family by any means. Median household income (as of 2022) was $74,580; 50% above, 50% below. You make $237.5k ($95k 8 2.5). Obviously, private schools wouldn't be private if they were where children typically were sent. Most go to public school. You are in the minority if this is your situation and, like you said, you shouldn't assume everyone is in the same bracket.

[@SoYappy]

@@Tahoza I just want to point out that not all Americans are struggling, not all Americans are scrapping for survival as the OP made to believe, likewise not every American is doing fine, just like anywhere in the world. I am in my situation because I work hard as most Americans do. But I understand that everyone is pointing their fingers at America for everything for better or for worse. The world must be reminded that if America is that bad then you won’t see people risking their lives crossing borders or many millionaires moving their money here.

[@kortyEdna825]

More and more people might face a tough time in retirement. Low-paying jobs, inflation, and high rents make it hard to save. Now, middle-class Americans find it tough to own a home too, leaving them without a place to retire.

[@Justinmeyer1000]

The increasing prices have impacted my plan to retire at 62, work part-time, and save for the future. I'm concerned about whether those who navigated the 2008 financial crisis had an easier time than I am currently experiencing. The combination of stock market volatility and a decrease in income is causing anxiety about whether I'll have sufficient funds for retirement.

[@foden700]

This is precisely why I like having a portfolio coach guide my day-to-day market decisions: with their extensive knowledge of going long and short at the same time, using risk for its asymmetrical upside and laying it off as a hedge against the inevitable downward turns, their skillset makes it nearly impossible for them to underperform. I've been utilizing a portfolio coach for more than two years, and I've made over $800,000.

[@KaurKhangura]

How can I reach this person?

[@foden700]

‘’Aileen Gertrude Tippy’’ is her name. She is regarded as a genius in her area and works for Empower Financial Services. She’s quite known in her field, look-her up.

[@KaurKhangura]

I checked Aileen up out of curiosity and i must say i am impressed by her Credentials. i emailed her already, waiting on her response.

[@chrisleblanc581]

This isn’t an American phenomenon. It’s happening all over

[@monk4ever]

It's a great thing.

[@eduardoforneck3335]

The lowest hanging fruit (and one which doesn't cost anything) is simply repealing NIMBY regulations preventing houses to be built.

[@doujinflip]

Next would be pedestrian avenues and mass transit to get these kids moving about the neighborhood on their own again. I don't know about you, but I'd trust a third grader to tap onto a tram over trying to drive a car.

[@danycashking]

Student debt and inability to buy a home right here 🙋🏾‍♂if you can't afford even a studio on your own, you postpone kids, you need the stable 2-income relationship first, and even then if you get the home, if the principal was so high that the monthly payments eat 50% of your collective income, you won't feel secure getting children. If you are renting even LESS, because unlike a mortgage, rents are almost guaranteed to keep getting higher for the same space, so it's even less financially secure. The reason buying a house is seen as a milestone for having children is because it stabilises a large expense long-term and provides predictability to reallocate funds to another large expense. I want kids, but I won't be having them at this rate.

[@TheMedicalCodingGuild]

In Pharaoh (the best world building game ever) you need all of these in order to have population growth: - desirable housing (nothing fancy but not in the middle of nowhere) - infrastructure (roads, water) - public servants (police, architects, firemen) - healthcare (full coverage with apothecary, dental, mortuary on top of doctors) - tax below 10% (the population tolerates 10+% only for about a year, then they rapidly move away) - plenty of food with variety (meat + chickpeas + figs f.e.) - jobs - salary close to or above the kingdom's average - educational facilities - religious facilities - entertainment - material goods (beer, linen, parchment paper, jewelry etc.) I assume we all see the problem here.

[@fabuloushostess6171]

Yup, I live 28 miles outside Atlanta. It was the only way I could have afforded a house that wasn’t falling apart under 550k. I am lucky because I don’t have to drive downtown to work. Because anyone who lives here takes 1 hr 40 minutes ONE way to get to downtown during rush hour, even though it is only 28 miles.

[@OIllllO]

@fabuloushostess6171 Think of the carbon emissions that could be saved if people were not commuting for hours every day. They want to shove EVs down peoples throats instead of fixing the real issue.