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The decline in birth rate is not just in Germany but is now in most countries including the U.S. To get a better understanding of the issues that we are now starting to face and the main reasons why Germans and others are not having babies I would advice viewing the DVD “Demographic Winter” and the follow up “Demographic Bomb”. Both are very interesting and point out how the economy is going to be in trouble for a while because of the declining birth rates. Unfortunately it appears that most people do not see the advantages of having children...Scripture calls children a blessing while most people today call children a financial burden...what a shame.

I know a young couple who don't have children. They are ideal for what I'd consider good parents. When I kinda asked why (while discretely trying to be polite) or when they might have children, they replied that they were saving for a house. They wanted a house in a good neighborhood. But even with the decline in real estate prices, homes in good neighborhoods are still sky high. So I asked why they didn't just get a starter home and work their way up. They reply was that most starters were in dangerous places where you put your life at risk. They wanted a home in a neighborhood that was safe enough for children. Starter homes in good neighborhoods are very rare.

So it occurred to me that the home my father purchased after coming home from WW2 was quite small and not fancy at all with only 1 bath and 2 Bedrooms. But it WAS safe. Remember it was the early 1950's and the demographics were very different. So even though the homes were very modest, they were in safe neighborhoods and typically with decent schools. This isn't true today. To get into a safe neighborhood with good schools it takes a ton of money and most young couples hoping to have children simply don't have that type of money. This is a big change in society and accounts for the low birth rates of many groups particularly young white couples.