Why low birth rate in the US?

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_Chap
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Re: Why low birth rate in the US?

Post by _Chap »

subgenius wrote: ... which may counter the idea that psychology is the only factor.


Nobody so far has suggested that any factor is the only factor currently influencing the US's (or any other country's) birth rate.

Economic factors, social and cultural changes, even the introduction of female hormones into the water supply because of contraceptive pills - all have been plausibly suggested as relevant. The question is simply which factors are currently the most influential, and which factors are susceptible to the control of democratic governments seeking to avoid counter-beneficial changes in the country's age profile long-term.
Zadok:
I did not have a faith crisis. I discovered that the Church was having a truth crisis.
Maksutov:
That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
_ajax18
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Re: Why low birth rate in the US?

Post by _ajax18 »

I read somewhere that while kids are great and all, people without out them tend to be happier. I bet more people are on to this and are recognizing what the opportunity cost of children actually is.


We struggled for years with infertility. We had given up hope when my daughter came as a miracle. My son came as a surprise. My life would seem so incomplete without them. Just having a daughter makes my view of womanhood so much different than had I been denied to experience. My son is my legacy. My kids do cost a lot but they're worth every penny to me. Having my little girl running into my arms excited when I get home from work is a love I never even knew existed. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't want that unless like me they just didn't know it existed.
And when the confederates saw Jackson standing fearless as a stone wall the army of Northern Virginia took courage and drove the federal army off their land.
_Chap
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Re: Why low birth rate in the US?

Post by _Chap »

ajax18 wrote:Just having a daughter makes my view of womanhood so much different than had I been denied to experience.


Yup.

ajax18 wrote:My kids do cost a lot but they're worth every penny to me. ... I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't want that unless like me they just didn't know it existed.


Yup.

Nice to find we have something in common!
Zadok:
I did not have a faith crisis. I discovered that the Church was having a truth crisis.
Maksutov:
That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
_subgenius
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Re: Why low birth rate in the US?

Post by _subgenius »

Chap wrote:
subgenius wrote: ... which may counter the idea that psychology is the only factor.


Nobody so far has suggested that any factor is the only factor currently influencing the US's (or any other country's) birth rate.

Economic factors, social and cultural changes, even the introduction of female hormones into the water supply because of contraceptive pills - all have been plausibly suggested as relevant. The question is simply which factors are currently the most influential, and which factors are susceptible to the control of democratic governments seeking to avoid counter-beneficial changes in the country's age profile long-term.

actually, the post that i quoted suggested that there were 4 factors...not 4+ factors...just a simple 4.
But hey, guys like you always "know what is really being said" as opposed to knowing "what was said"...so there is that.

But if you want to post stab-in-the-air guesses, then why not "suggest" alien interventions? that guess has the exact same logic, reasoning, and supporting evidence as the other noodles you are throwing against the wall. Like the pre-1980 noodle that showed fertility rates were high among gender-inequal countries but now a post-1980 noodle has fertility rates higher among gender-equal countries....funny how you guys apply the razor only when convenient.

Or you could note the rather odd coincidence that fertility rates are declining as well...which, again, kinda makes your noodles look just like noodles.
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires...seek discipline and find your liberty
I can tell if a person is judgmental just by looking at them
what is chaos to the fly is normal to the spider - morticia addams
If you're not upsetting idiots, you might be an idiot. - Ted Nugent
_Chap
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Re: Why low birth rate in the US?

Post by _Chap »

The board is passing through a zone of weirdness. Please fasten your seatbelts.
Zadok:
I did not have a faith crisis. I discovered that the Church was having a truth crisis.
Maksutov:
That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
_Themis
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Re: Why low birth rate in the US?

Post by _Themis »

EAllusion wrote:I read some research on this about 10 years ago. At the time, what researchers consistently found is that parents and non-parents are about equally as happy, but their happiness was spread over the course of their lives differently with parents having higher highs and lower lows over multi-year spans of time. There's a lot of quirks in that data. For example, younger parents tend to be unhappier and parents with more than two kids tend to be unhappier. It might be worth looking into what the research says these days.


I would suggest young parents happiness is affected by how close their parents live to them, or how much family support they have in helping to taking care and raising the children. Good day care support would also impact in a positive way feeling of happiness. It made me think this could be a small factor in places like Norway where due to a different language and smaller country then the US people would end up staying close to home throughout their lives.
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_subgenius
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Re: Why low birth rate in the US?

Post by _subgenius »

Chap wrote:The board is passing through a zone of weirdness. Please fasten your seatbelts.

dude, weirdness is the destination. bienvenidos!
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires...seek discipline and find your liberty
I can tell if a person is judgmental just by looking at them
what is chaos to the fly is normal to the spider - morticia addams
If you're not upsetting idiots, you might be an idiot. - Ted Nugent
_canpakes
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Re: Why low birth rate in the US?

Post by _canpakes »

moksha wrote:1. Later age of marriage
2. Availability of birth control
3. Abortion
4. Video games and late-night television
5. Restricted family size for enhanced quality of life purposes
6. Unaffordable single family dwellings
7. Gubbermint is putting something in the water to sap bodily fluids.

Thanks, Obama.
_canpakes
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Re: Why low birth rate in the US?

Post by _canpakes »

subgenius wrote:But if you want to post stab-in-the-air guesses, then why not "suggest" alien interventions?

Sheesh. You always have to make everything all about you.
_Some Schmo
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Re: Why low birth rate in the US?

Post by _Some Schmo »

You think the rate's bad now? It's going to plummet. Nothing is a more effective contraceptive than seeing Drumpf's face everywhere. I'd be afraid of that birth defect too.
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.
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