Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The question is not why the birth rate is falling – it’s why anyone has kids at all
The New Statesman ^ | 4 July 2022 | John Allege

Posted on 07/05/2022 6:17:50 PM PDT by anthropocene_x

The mysterious thing is not that people are having fewer kids. It’s that they’re still having as many as they are.

Numbers first. In late January the Office for National Statistics noted, in an “ooh that’s interesting” kind of a way, that in 2020, for the first time, half of women in England and Wales remained childless by their 30th birthday.

In economy in which wages barely rise, a huge pile of debt if they’re a graduate and a housing market in which the only way to attain secure housing is to buy but the only way of buying is to inherit money, move a long way from the best jobs markets or, preferably, both. Throw in the cost of childcare, often compared to a second mortgage — which, given the size of mortgages these days, is no small deal — and the whole venture seems prohibitively, terrifyingly expensive.

Is it any wonder that people might not want to have children when they’re living in a shared flat, or don’t have room for them, or know they can be evicted at almost no notice? Or when they can’t see how they can afford a kid if they don’t keep working, but don’t see how they can afford to keep working if they have a kid?

(Excerpt) Read more at newstatesman.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: biden; birthrate; economy; millennials
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-55 last
To: plain talk
Muslims don’t seem to have a problem with sucking it up and still raising large families. At this rate they will simply breed us out of existence.

The Radical Left and the Extreme Feminism is killing the West.

Israel is an example of a "Western" nation with an above replacement birth rate, their society is Jewish and they have strong religious belief, something that is lacking in the West.

41 posted on 07/05/2022 8:37:06 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: cherry

Women are the gatekeepers, anyone that says differently is lying.


42 posted on 07/05/2022 8:51:40 PM PDT by Valpal1 (Not even the police are safe from the police!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

People are too self-centered and only have time for themselves.


43 posted on 07/05/2022 9:11:19 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Inside every leftist is a blood-thirsty fascist yearning to be free of current societal constraints.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TonyM

Not at all! The children aren’t left behind.


44 posted on 07/05/2022 9:24:39 PM PDT by BDParrish (God called, He said He'd take you back!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

People are having kids, it’s just not the people that society needs having kids. Welfare in the U.S. (and undoubtedly the U.K. also) encourages single motherhood. A woman who chooses to go down the path of single motherhood during or shortly after high school and go on welfare can live a quite comfortable life on the government dole. If she has four or five children she can bring in almost six figures through the various welfare programs, that’s a lot more than a mid-20’s woman with a college degree usually makes. Of course a welfare mother raising illegitimate children by multiple fathers isn’t the best way to propagate the next generation, children raised in that environment tend to grow up and do the same thing. Meanwhile the people who should be parenting the next generation decline to because of the high costs. Those costs don’t mean anything to the welfare mother, she gets it all taken care of for free by the government.


45 posted on 07/05/2022 10:04:12 PM PDT by GaryCrow
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

I’m Gen X with 4 kids. I’m frugal and did work part time with nearby grandma care 2X/ week for 10 years. Also married which of course is key. I will say that even the cheapest 4 year in state public universities for 4 kids adds up to a cool half million dollars. It’s daunting and a lot of saving but we did it (thanks to a great stock market from 2010 til 2020).

I’m glad I had 4 kids. Wish I had had one more maybe. I’m also a Christian which is a key point here I think.


46 posted on 07/06/2022 12:20:23 AM PDT by olivia3boys
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

Rebellion against the head coverings mandate.

Rebellion against glories.


47 posted on 07/06/2022 12:38:15 AM PDT by Varsity Flight ( "War by the prophesies set befre you." I Timothy 1:18)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: China Clipper

Loss of true fulfillment.

Nurturer. Mother of all the living.

Rebellion. Passive-Aggressives

Acceptance hostile The Mark aggression.

AntiChrist


48 posted on 07/06/2022 12:45:04 AM PDT by Varsity Flight ( "War by the prophesies set befre you." I Timothy 1:18)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: AnthonySoprano

Rebellion

Lie

Delusion sent. 2 Thessalonians

“Unless those days were shortened no soul should stay alive”


49 posted on 07/06/2022 12:52:45 AM PDT by Varsity Flight ( "War by the prophesies set befre you." I Timothy 1:18)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Karliner

“And lawless increased the love of many shall grow cold.”


50 posted on 07/06/2022 12:55:57 AM PDT by Varsity Flight ( "War by the prophesies set befre you." I Timothy 1:18)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Deaf Smith
Declining birth rates since 2020… The Experimental Gene Therapy shot made the “Why should” question moot. Those that took the shot(s) had that decision removed from them.

Once again more evidence of the vaccine's ability to travel through time! It caused declining birth rates for decades prior to it existing to cause a data point to exist by 2020, a year it still didn't exist! Is there nothing this vaccine can't do?

51 posted on 07/06/2022 7:14:39 AM PDT by Republican Wildcat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: olivia3boys

Yes, I had four children. One more would have been very welcome.


52 posted on 07/06/2022 8:06:00 AM PDT by wintertime ( Behind every government school teacher stand armed police.( Real bullets in those guns on the hip!))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: Dilbert San Diego

interesting.... I’m one of 13 maternal grandchildren. Have two kids, but there is only 4 other kids among my cousins... and five unmarried and one divorced never remarried.


53 posted on 07/06/2022 9:14:15 AM PDT by PalominoGuy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: Phoenix8

The left is trying to destroy our country.


54 posted on 07/06/2022 12:57:58 PM PDT by The_Media_never_lie (Brandon's got this.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

Again, no one so far on this thread has mentioned the western phenomenon of “Divorce Inc.” in which the man can easily become impoverished and lose his children permanently due to western divorce/family law with full government backing.

The Amish and Muslims don’t have easy divorce law in which the mother keeps the children, alienates them against the father and takes the father’s wallet.


55 posted on 07/07/2022 4:07:02 AM PDT by AbolishCSEU (Amount of "child" support paid is inversely proportionate to mother's actual parenting of children)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-55 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson