There're plenty of wealthy couples to whom children present an unacceptable alteration of their preferred lifestyle. And we know where that came from too. When was the last time you saw raising babies and young children prominently featured in television and movies?
You are correct. A seismic shift in our society’s fundamental values is the primary culprit; superindividualism combined with maximum consumerism with an overdose of secular humanism does it every time. Probably the ugliest parts of a free society in the West. I wasn’t using the tax problem as the source, just a contributing factor. For those of us who wanted families and had them, this would’ve certainly come in handy in saving more income for their education; whether it was college or trade school, depending on their skill sets. Regardless, people taking out second mortgages to support their lifestyles on either expensive vacations, etc. or depreciating assets is an incredibly stupid thing to do. They will pay for it, now or in the near future. Or, I suppose we’ll end up paying higher taxes as the government bails them out. We live in sick times.