U.S. birth rate falls for 4th year in a row

[Ultralight]

Is this just keeping it simple or what?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1091446?__twitter_impression=true

I wonder if more people just feel like it is not worth it, for a variety of reasons.

[happystuff]

Quoting the article above: "A closer look at the data suggests that Americans are not having enough babies to sustain the population."

I am assuming the population being referred to is the U.S. population alone. The world population is still increasing according this:

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/2018/world-population.html (did not copy hyperlink, sorry! May need to cut and paste)

This one says: "The Census Bureau’s International Data Base estimates that the world population will reach 7.5 billion on September 19, 2018 at 12:22 a.m. EDT."

On the whole, there are still a lot of people!

[pinkytoe]

There was something in the news about Italy's declining population. Many of the beautiful little villages are becoming nothing but old people and will surely die out. The young people they interviewed said it had to do with economics and jobs more than anything.

[flowerseverywhere]

The EU has far below replacement birth rates as well.

It presents us with an i interesting conundrum. Many countries don’t want immigrants. Or they only want doctors, nurses and other educated portions of the populations, only making the poorer countries worse off. With a less than replacement birth rate who is going to take care the old people? Who is going to pay SS and Medicare taxes to financially support them and our infrastructure?

Here is an interesting chart

https://www.statista.com/statistics/241530/birth-rate-by-family-income-in-the-us/

the rich will get richer, poverty will increase if this holds true.

My 40 something kids have many friends and co workers who have childless or one child friends. As well as many posters here.

I’m guessing there has to be some type of sensible immigration policy that allows a mix of skilled and unskilled labor but I don’t hold much hope. The current political extremes of open borders vs. keep all the non white non Christian people out ideologies are not going to be good for us in the long run. We need far more middle of the road policies and politicians on both side of the aisle who are far more willing to come up with compromising solutions instead of investigating each other and spouting conspiracy theories non stop.

[Yppej]

Having children is very expensive in the US. To cover the family medical insurance plan can be over $10,000 a year in premiums alone, so most couples feel both of them need to work, and with longer commutes sometimes in opposite directions that means two vehicles. Both parents working in turn necessitates day care, which in most places costs more than tuition and fees at a state university, and unlike higher education cannot be financed through loans or shifted onto the taxpayer through loan forgiveness programs.

[flowerseverywhere]

Having children is very expensive in the US. To cover the family medical insurance plan can be over $10,000 a year in premiums alone, so most couples feel both of them need to work, and with longer commutes sometimes in opposite directions that means two vehicles. Both parents working in turn necessitates day care, which in most places costs more than tuition and fees at a state university, and unlike higher education cannot be financed through loans or shifted onto the taxpayer through loan forgiveness programs.

I totally agree with you. another aspect is there has been a huge decline in pensions available. Most people today have to fund their own retirement and it does not appear if we continue on the same trajectory social security and Medicare will exist as we know it twenty years from now. Many of current retirees had at least one member of the couple with some type of pension available, allowing for a stay at home mom or even the ability to work part time, a huge difference is childcare costs.

Even the government is sounding an alarm

https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v69n3/v69n3p1.html

of course times were vastly different sixty years ago when I was a kid. Very few people today would Willingly go back to one car, no restaurant, cable, cell phone hand me down and make it do or do without philosophies. Which is why I think so many people gravitate here and to mister money mustache type forums and blogs. Because what we are doing now as a culture is not going to bode well for future generations.

[Ultralight]

Even after I block her the trolling continues.

[Alan]

Even after I block her the trolling continues.Even knowing the history, I didn't think of you in that post.

[Ultralight]

Even knowing the history, I didn't think of you in that post.

Shocker.

[rosarugosa]

I think it's OK for someone to post about her disapproval of the student loan forgiveness program, but not OK for someone to bash a specific person who may be part of that program. Just like it's OK to to express disapproval about Trump and his policies, but not OK to call Alan names because he may vote for him.

[Ultralight]

I think it's OK for someone to post about her disapproval of the student loan forgiveness program, but not OK for someone to bash a specific person who may be part of that program. Just like it's OK to to express disapproval about Trump and his policies, but not OK to call Alan names because he may vote for him.
Valid point. I stand corrected.

[ToomuchStuff]

My 40 something kids ....

I read that and laughed, thinking, you were busy. How many turkeys at Thanksgiving would that need?:thankyou:

[pinkytoe]

I was shocked to hear how much DD will have to pay for childcare for her twins coming up.

[catherine]

I was shocked to hear how much DD will have to pay for childcare for her twins coming up.

I know. My son/DIL have two children, and they are totally struggling. (Before people get too judgmental, i.e. "They should have thought of that before they had another", they had to go IVF with the first and were totally gobsmacked--and thrilled--by the second). I so wish I could have retired by now and offered to help them out at least 2 days a week. I'm sure their daycare expenses are twice their mortgage payment.

[iris lilies]

I know. My son/DIL have two children, and they are totally struggling. (Before people get too judgmental, i.e. "They should have thought of that before they had another", they had to go IVF with the first and were totally gobsmacked--and thrilled--by the second). I so wish I could have retired by now and offered to help them out at least 2 days a week. I'm sure their daycare expenses are twice their mortgage payment.

A major problem with grandma providing childcare only a couple days a week is that childcare facilities want a commitment to five days a week and they can easily get it, so grandmas who do only patrial care kinda screw it up. So dont feel bad!

[catherine]

A major problem with grandma providing childcare only a couple days a week is that childcare facilities want a commitment to five days a week and they can easily get it, so grandmas who do only patrial care kinda screw it up. So dont feel bad!

Yeah, I know. Kind of a bummer, but in my case, it does make me feel better. But when my kids were small and I was paying for daycare, I felt it was such a bummer that I had to a) give up my kids to a caregiver all day and b) I had pay for that "privilege" It felt like a double whammy. All I wanted to do was stay home with my kids.

[Teacher Terry]

Catherine, even if they are struggling now one day they won’t be and a wanted child is worth more than anything else. The daycare years will pass. I was lucky to be able to stay home until my kids were school aged and most of my friends did the same. We were frugal and went without material things but it was so worth it. On Mr. MM there is a thread on people that are trying to have kids, using IVF and when people really want kids they are willing to do whatever it takes.

[catherine]

On Mr. MM there is a thread on people that are trying to have kids, using IVF and when people really want kids they are willing to do whatever it takes.

Yes, my son/DIL did whatever it took via IVF, and GDD was a happy surprise. I was not able to stay at home all the time when my kids were young. I cobbled together jobs like family daycare and painting soft-sculpture and freelance writing and doing Mary Kay but at the end of the day it was my serendipitous entree into market research that saved the day. By that time my kids were already 14-22 years old. Life was not easy, but it worked out.

[flowerseverywhere]

I read that and laughed, thinking, you were busy. How many turkeys at Thanksgiving would that need?:thankyou:
Perfect reason not to believe everything you read on the internet. Especially in a thread. about the birth rate falling.

that would be far from the record

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_the_most_children#Female_and_m onogamous_couples