With the exception of the last few years, the U.S. population has not grown at such a slow rate since 1918, during the influenza pandemic and World War I.
COVID-19, Declining Birth Rates and International Migration Resulted in Historically Small Population Gains
Ngl 99% of it is the absurd cost of having children and the absolute 0 help the government provides for child care, etc etc.
But i feel like a non zero part of it is capitalism has been inventing all kinds of new treats like fancy coffee drinks, expensive bar "experiences", Cancun vacations, etc and these things are all impossible to afford if you have children for anyone outside the professional class or 1%.
I feel like having children wasn't as much of a sacrife before because what else was there to do with the money
I definitely think there is something to this. We've built these sophisticated skinner boxes (gaming, social media, endless on-demand entertainment) which all manipulate us into sinking as much time and money in them as humanly possible. The world sucks and there's easy escapism just a few clicks away.
Or you could have a kid, and deal with economic hardship and endless responsibility instead. Tough choice, really.
As the rate of profit falls, capitalists purse more aggressive ways to separate us from our money. Fancy coffee drinks and international travel - while not inherently "bad" - are much more expensive than what they replaced - regular coffee and driving places domestically for vacations.
Ngl 99% of it is the absurd cost of having children and the absolute 0 help the government provides for child care, etc etc.
But i feel like a non zero part of it is capitalism has been inventing all kinds of new treats like fancy coffee drinks, expensive bar "experiences", Cancun vacations, etc and these things are all impossible to afford if you have children for anyone outside the professional class or 1%.
I feel like having children wasn't as much of a sacrife before because what else was there to do with the money
I definitely think there is something to this. We've built these sophisticated skinner boxes (gaming, social media, endless on-demand entertainment) which all manipulate us into sinking as much time and money in them as humanly possible. The world sucks and there's easy escapism just a few clicks away.
Or you could have a kid, and deal with economic hardship and endless responsibility instead. Tough choice, really.
As the rate of profit falls, capitalists purse more aggressive ways to separate us from our money. Fancy coffee drinks and international travel - while not inherently "bad" - are much more expensive than what they replaced - regular coffee and driving places domestically for vacations.