Teen births continue to decline in U.S
- Thread starter Screwston
- Start date
They had a good discussion on the fertility issue on our local NPR station last week: http://www.kcrw.com/news/programs/tp/tp130206will_more_babies_sav
It's really a confluence of a lot of factors. I think a lot of us are blaming feminism and it certain is part of the reason, but by no means is that all of it and probably not even most of it. The thing is, when you poll people on two different data points, how many kids do they have versus how many do they want to have you get two different numbers. If everyone had the amount of kids they ideally want, the fertility rate in America would be 2.5, moderately above replacement rate.
What has changed most of all is incentive. Like just about all issues, the answer is to just follow the money. At one time, the more kids, the more workers and the wealthier your family became and the more your safety net widened. Kids were a good return on investment. At some point in the last century, children became a financial liability. A bad return on investment. The cost of having kids, and paying for their education has skyrocketed. One of my good friends, he has to put his kids in daycare and his kids daycare alone cost more than my rent for a month. Then he eventually wants them in private school because most California schools are so shitty. That's at least a few thousand more a month for two kids. Then he has to put something away for their college educations which go up every year and meanwhile savings accounts are paying interest below the rate of inflation. Shit adds up. A kid is just not a good investment anymore and the only reason to have one is for purely emotional reasons. Then on top of that all, the stigma of being a childless adult has been vanquished.
It's really a confluence of a lot of factors. I think a lot of us are blaming feminism and it certain is part of the reason, but by no means is that all of it and probably not even most of it. The thing is, when you poll people on two different data points, how many kids do they have versus how many do they want to have you get two different numbers. If everyone had the amount of kids they ideally want, the fertility rate in America would be 2.5, moderately above replacement rate.
What has changed most of all is incentive. Like just about all issues, the answer is to just follow the money. At one time, the more kids, the more workers and the wealthier your family became and the more your safety net widened. Kids were a good return on investment. At some point in the last century, children became a financial liability. A bad return on investment. The cost of having kids, and paying for their education has skyrocketed. One of my good friends, he has to put his kids in daycare and his kids daycare alone cost more than my rent for a month. Then he eventually wants them in private school because most California schools are so shitty. That's at least a few thousand more a month for two kids. Then he has to put something away for their college educations which go up every year and meanwhile savings accounts are paying interest below the rate of inflation. Shit adds up. A kid is just not a good investment anymore and the only reason to have one is for purely emotional reasons. Then on top of that all, the stigma of being a childless adult has been vanquished.
In other news...video game sales on the rise.
Ovid
Woodpecker
In a primarily rural economy, children are an asset. They provide "free" labor, and a farm produces enough food to feed a dozen children as easily as one or two. When a populace becomes more urbanized, however, either living in cities or living in suburbs and small towns, children become a liability, because every child means a hit to the wallet. You have to buy more food at the store, you have to buy clothes (and the standards of dress are much higher in a city than they are in some rural farming community. You never see girls wearing flour-sack dresses anymore.) Tuitions, daycare, and other accessories of modern life like cars and cellphones for the teenagers all add up, while the children seldom provide any financial benefits unless the family is on welfare, which means all these costs are simply absorbed by the state.
So many ways to make children affordable again:
- Higher tax exemptions
- Elimination of public schooling
- Privatizing colleges and no more federal loans
America spends more $$$ on its kids today than ever before... and yet kids are more messed up and less accomplished than ever.
Kids who do well come from good families. Kids who do bad come from bad families. Making giant social programs that suck the country dry isn't going to change this.
- Higher tax exemptions
- Elimination of public schooling
- Privatizing colleges and no more federal loans
America spends more $$$ on its kids today than ever before... and yet kids are more messed up and less accomplished than ever.
Kids who do well come from good families. Kids who do bad come from bad families. Making giant social programs that suck the country dry isn't going to change this.
Speakeasy, part of that safety net was that your kids would care for you in your later years. That's mostly unnecessary nowadays, what with social security and Medicare. Now that the state is doling out money to the elderly, the elderly don't have to rely on their kids. Depending on you ask, welfare weakens families and promotes independence - and both charges are true.
The decline in births is probably a result of our current recession. Even with 'unintended' pregnancies, when times are bad, people get more worried about having a baby. I haven't seen any evidence that it's a cultural change.
There's a simple solution to teen and unintended pregnancies - long term birth control, which requires the user do nothing beyond the initial procedure, for months or years. Intrauterine devices are one such device. They're a lot more popular elsewhere. It always astonishes me that their use is not more common.
The decline in births is probably a result of our current recession. Even with 'unintended' pregnancies, when times are bad, people get more worried about having a baby. I haven't seen any evidence that it's a cultural change.
There's a simple solution to teen and unintended pregnancies - long term birth control, which requires the user do nothing beyond the initial procedure, for months or years. Intrauterine devices are one such device. They're a lot more popular elsewhere. It always astonishes me that their use is not more common.
Do teenagers seriously worry about the recession while they're engaging in their early, unprotected pumps 'n' dumps?
Handsome Creepy Eel said:
Of course not. Big Daddy Government will happily increase the national deficit to continually pay these irresponsible bitches for their bastard spawn.
Funny thing is, I've lived in the same neighborhood for most of my life. When I was a teenager, the high school I graduated from was noted every year for having the highest teen pregnancy rate in the county. From what I hear, the number of pregnant teenagers at that school is now worse than it's ever been. Thanks MTV!
Birth control
http://elitedaily.com/elite/2013/te...paign=teen-pregnancy-27-birth-control-schools
I have heard that Depo-Provera is very popular in the inner city.
http://elitedaily.com/elite/2013/te...paign=teen-pregnancy-27-birth-control-schools
I have heard that Depo-Provera is very popular in the inner city.
U.S. Births Fall to Lowest Level Since 1980s
Number of babies born has declined in 10 of the last 11 years as fertility rate slumps
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-births-fall-to-lowest-rates-since-1980s-11557892860
Article is there, but I wanted to post the charts.
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Number of babies born has declined in 10 of the last 11 years as fertility rate slumps
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-births-fall-to-lowest-rates-since-1980s-11557892860
Article is there, but I wanted to post the charts.
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