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The birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest it’s been in 30 years

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51–60 of 134 posts

Re: The birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest it’s been in 30 years

#51
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I avoid Vox articles due to the unsubtle feminist ideologies > (...) recent cringe Vox interview with Jordan Peterson that kept trying put words in his mouth > (...) I see no future for myself outside of being someone's mortgage hound or alimony sugar daddy. That escalated quickly!

It is on the mind of every young person. It is becoming more common to do everything on your own. You cannot rely on a good partner to share and build a life together with. The traditional routes and social contract are broken. That is why many young people are listening to lectures on youtube and voted for nationalism. But hey, downvote me into oblivion and ridicule me, I could care less. Just sharing my insights an…

> Perhaps turning men into non toxic soy boys who salivate at being feminist activists will turn America into utopia for all.

You don't deserve to be part of this discussion throwing around these phrases. This is why you are being downvoted.

You contribute no value. You make the conversation worse through your participation.

Re: The birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest it’s been in 30 years

#52
post #41

There is a theory that the root cause of these problems is the continued dismantling of traditional gender roles. If women had not entered the workforce in massive numbers things could have continued based on old trajectories. The male breadwinner/housewife lifestyle was a formula that made it ideal for raising children cheaply, even if it didn’t seem like the most equitable. If I had a good job and settled with a wi…

> There is a theory that the root cause of these problems is the continued dismantling of traditional gender roles. Except that Japan has kept traditional gender roles, where the woman leaves her job when marries, and they have one of the lower fertility rates in the world. At the same time, Sweden with very strong gender equality has a higher fertility rate than other European countries. Even that it is still low co…

Western countries have lower rates than Japan when you exclude for native birth rates. Western countries get a big boost in birth rate when you account for non-natives having population booms.

Re: The birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest it’s been in 30 years

#53
post #35
post #3

There were a couple points in there that could, may, should have been left on the cutting room floor. Some good points were made however. Social Security in its original Ponzi-Schemesque form will end up even worse for wear with declining birthrates. (Not saying Social Security is bad in concept, but it only works in times of sharp population growth, and even then, banking on the youth to carry you just because seems…

> (Not saying Social Security is bad in concept, but it only works in times of sharp population growth, and even then, banking on the youth to carry you just because seems squicky to many ). Social Security works with economic growth. It doesn't matter if you get 10 babies or 10 robots. Automation makes possible to keep proper living standards without exponential population growth. Social Security, as other services…

When social security was started 159 people payed into it per recipient. Nowadays it's about 3 people paying in for a single recipient.

It's absolutely tied to population.

Re: The birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest it’s been in 30 years

#54
post #44
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is on the mind of every young person. It is becoming more common to do everything on your own. You cannot rely on a good partner to share and build a life together with. The traditional routes and social contract are broken. That is why many young people are listening to lectures on youtube and voted for nationalism. But hey, downvote me into oblivion and ridicule me, I could care less. Just sharing my insights an…

Hey, I'm not a soy boy, I'm a soy man, and I'm up to my eyeballs in cute, fun, financially self-sufficient women. Shame they show so much interest when you're engaged to another cute, fun, actualized lady, eh?? Sorry, to use the jargon you might understand....cute, fun, actualized female .

Careful, or he'll be so triggered he accuses you of virtue-signalling.

Re: The birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest it’s been in 30 years

#55

Isn't just economic, methinks: Millennials also tend to be more perceptive about the costs of overpopulation and the approach of global warming. The wisdom of Small Is Beautiful is not so lost on them.

Speak for yourself. I'm petrified by the prospect of lack of growth. It is what our economy is built on, and a larger population could result in better science. There is plenty of land in the United States. Even our cities in the rust belt are underpopulated.

The value of general labor generally decreases with advancements in tools (automation).

There are enough people in the US now, enough children, that our education system could focus better on technological and scientific advances for those who show the aptitude (by increasing opportunity and decreasing inequal access to education and jobs).

Re: The birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest it’s been in 30 years

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speak for yourself. I'm petrified by the prospect of lack of growth. It is what our economy is built on, and a larger population could result in better science. There is plenty of land in the United States. Even our cities in the rust belt are underpopulated.

Exactly, have you seen these mid west ghost towns? Scary dystopian stuff.

They are ghost towns because there are no jobs, not because there are no people. You got cause and effect backwards.

At the same time, prosperous cities are booming and rents are rising. It's polarizing.

Re: The birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest it’s been in 30 years

#57

As a 24 year old married man sitting in the nursery with my premature son, I feel truly sad that more people cannot experience this. I don't have a house, I rent my apartment, we share a car and we both (were) working. So what? Time marches on. So many people seem cynical about having kids or doing anything else involving sacrificing happiness for meaning. And yet people complain of indulgence and a lack of meaning?…

I mean, if folks are working for $10 an hour and living at home, it is not exactly the time to start a family. And I am not going to use the fact they own a (financed) iphone as an excuse to chide them.

Re: The birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest it’s been in 30 years

#58
post #33
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pick up artist community seems fairly toxic..

Because of what it is inherently or bad actors soiling it for everyone else?

Like all fringe, alternative movements, there are elements of truth and arguably good stuff (helping men gain confidence and be more sociable, teaching them how to clean up and become generally more attractive) mixed in with a lot of bad stuff (the mind games that are not only misogynist but downright misanthropic and mechanical, the cultlike dynamics that come with being in an alternative fringe community that claims to know the one true way to do something). In a healthier society there would be better, less controversial approaches to help men and boys gain the sort of benefits they seek from PUA and these subcultures.

Re: The birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest it’s been in 30 years

#59
post #3

There were a couple points in there that could, may, should have been left on the cutting room floor. Some good points were made however. Social Security in its original Ponzi-Schemesque form will end up even worse for wear with declining birthrates. (Not saying Social Security is bad in concept, but it only works in times of sharp population growth, and even then, banking on the youth to carry you just because seems…

The narrative that social security will eventually bankrupt the country (or the updated version: "it's a ponzi") dates back to its inception 80 years ago and it's been pretty consistent ever since:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/post_9910_b_7988...

While the economy has grown about ~400% dependency ratios have gone up about 11% I think. Social security's affordability has always been about political choice - e.g. tax cuts for the wealthy or money for pensioners.

Re: The birthrate in the U.S. is the lowest it’s been in 30 years

#60

It's not economic. People have been poor for hundreds and thousands and millions of years, and yet they still had children.

Children used to be a source of labor and providing generational wealth. Now children are a source of financial cost, not benefit, and thus it doesn't make sense for poor people to have them.
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