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Baby Boom or Bust?
21–30 of 114 posts
Re: Baby Boom or Bust?
#22The apparent ability of our species to self-regulate its population growth when not disturbed by religion is something that I find to be an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
Re: Baby Boom or Bust?
#23While the article mainly focuses on France, the world is mostly looking at China after its one-child-policy as the greatest example. France is a good example for other things though. Its extremely pro-pension policies makes it very hostile against the young. Both countries at either end of the world were spending their time breeding babies to try to feed them 50 years later.
World is mostly looking at China after its one-child-policy as the greatest example. China's one-child policy was a success. They were able to put on the brakes during the period between health care getting good and standard of living going up, which is when population goes way up. India didn't do that, and their population shot up beyond the country's water supply. France is just leveling off. Japan is in actual dec…
> China's one-child policy was a success.
None of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan or Hong Kong had forced abortions and they also have declining, aging populations after long periods of rapidly rising living standards. China got to very much the same place they would have anyway but with much more human suffering and barbarity.
Re: Baby Boom or Bust?
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Let's wait to see which country, between China and India, can fare better over the next 60 years of economic development. India might not have enough water now but the raw material for solving any problem is found in problem solvers, not the ground.
That really depends on if India is able to successfully educate and/or provide useful skills training, health care, nutrition, and safety i.e. polish its "demographic diamonds". As well as maintain a healthy, competitive economy, rule of law, and respect for property rights - all of which creates an environment in which they can work hard and prosper. There are countries with large young populations that struggle to…
Since India already has nuclear technology, they can use it to desalinate large amounts of ocean water. Nuclear energy is relatively easy to scale.
Producing good doctors, teachers, police officers, judges is much harder to scale. At the very least, India us known to nurture good engineers and doctors in serious numbers.
Re: Baby Boom or Bust?
#25Children are astronomically expensive. Most working class and middle class parents cannot envision affording a second child so they have just one.
Re: Baby Boom or Bust?
#26My country (Canada) is intent on making up for falling birth rates by increasing immigration. Sometimes I wonder if it is unethical for a rich country like Canada to effectively outsource (offload?) child rearing costs and to some extent education costs to the poorer countries that we are taking immigrants from.
What’s the solution though? If Canadians don’t want to have more children, you can’t force them and you probably can’t influence them much, so your other choice is to close down the immigration, which seems like it’s less ethical than the present condition.
I don't know! The cost of living and high cost of raising children here are popular scape goats for why Canadians are having less children. There's already baby bonuses, nationalized child care (in QC) but they do not have enough effect? One thing that isn't addressed is housing. Couples aren't going to want to have kids when all they can afford in a major city is a shoebox condo.
Re: Baby Boom or Bust?
#27Children are astronomically expensive. Most working class and middle class parents cannot envision affording a second child so they have just one.
In the US it really seems to be. I don’t even understand how my American friends can have kids - daycare is so expensive it makes more sense for one parent to just stay home.
In Canada, children are already much more affordable (esp. in Quebec). In Europe even more so.
Once education, health care and day care are affordable (or free), children are not astronomically exoensive.
Re: Baby Boom or Bust?
#28Declining birth rate was already an issue in large cities during antiquity. I even suspect that the pro-family policies we can observe in the religions that were created afterwards were a tentative to fix this problem. In my opinion, our species population is big enough already, and this is the main driving factor of ongoing ecological problems. I think we can adapt to a differently shaped age structure, we don't nee…
> In my opinion, our species population is big enough already, and this is the main driving factor of ongoing ecological problems.
That's the reason my wife and I decided to only have one kid. It's a statement. I don't care that future politicians shall have less future taxpayers. I don't believe eternal growth is the only model: I actually think it's unsustainable.
Re: Baby Boom or Bust?
#29Children are astronomically expensive. Most working class and middle class parents cannot envision affording a second child so they have just one.
In the US it really seems to be. I don’t even understand how my American friends can have kids - daycare is so expensive it makes more sense for one parent to just stay home. In Canada, children are already much more affordable (esp. in Quebec). In Europe even more so. Once education, health care and day care are affordable (or free), children are not astronomically exoensive.
If you compare the total fertility rates in Canada and Europe (~1.5), even with their pro natalist policies, America still has a higher fertility rate (~1.7) with abysmal support for parents. Likely attributable to families that opt out of paid formal child care, and Medicaid picks up the slack for those below middle class means.
Re: Baby Boom or Bust?
#30Children are astronomically expensive. Most working class and middle class parents cannot envision affording a second child so they have just one.
Well, the only really expensive thing is daycare.
I'm afraid there's no ready solution to that - unless we're willing to get back to the idea of extended family and village to raise a kid.
PS. I have three kids, I know what I'm talking about.