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Birth Rates Dropped Most in U.S. Counties Where Home Prices Grew Most

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Re: Birth Rates Dropped Most in U.S. Counties Where Home Prices Grew Most

#301

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This is the future. Silicon valley rent problems are a network optimization problem best solved by pushing resources to the edge of the graph.

Especially with the type of technical work that's so predominate on the west coast. A lot of that work could be moved to cheaper interior parts of the country.

Yet for some reason tech giants insist on building more opulent, centralized megaoffices in unaffordable areas. Perhaps it is because they do not bear the brunt of these costs.

Re: Birth Rates Dropped Most in U.S. Counties Where Home Prices Grew Most

#302

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This is false. There are 500$/mo rents everywhere and food costs are the lowest in history. If you dont care to keep up with the Joneses and have minimum wage people cook you food, you can easily live off 1 low-income salary.

...if you leave the big city? There are not $500/mo rents in many popular places. But sure, Des Moines, Pocatello, you can live like that. And why not - at that salary, you sure aren't going to the Bolshoi Ballet any time soon.

I can't find a $500/month 2-bedroom apartment for rent in Des Moines (https://www.padmapper.com/apartments/des-moines-ia/2-beds/pr...).

The cheapest I see is $625, which is 25% more than $500/month.

Re: Birth Rates Dropped Most in U.S. Counties Where Home Prices Grew Most

#303
post #298

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When thinking about having children and about the level of care and attention you’ll be able to give them, I think it’s useful to have the right comparison in mind. If you’re considering having another child, that child’s choices are not between your limited time and attention on the one hand and, on the other, parents who can shower them with time and attention. Instead, the alternative to your limited time and atte…

Life isn't automatically good!!! Bad parenting can, and does, create lives that are arguably better to have never existed.

I think it’s pretty patronizing to make this choice for other people. IMO, there’s only one person whose moral right it is to decide whether a life is worthwhile. And that’s the person whose life it is.

Re: Birth Rates Dropped Most in U.S. Counties Where Home Prices Grew Most

#304

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> ure there are pretty generous payments to most members of society, but there is still some petty crime and different social classes and lack of major mobility. By most metrics, Denmark has one of the largest degrees of social mobility in the world. The US usually comes out worst or second-worst in the developed world (the UK is gaining on it lately).

the rent, salary, taxation, net worth and expectancy data for denmark's 5 million danes is comporable to the AVERAGE american city/suburban resident of similar background in the USA we just have 100 million people that are literally in debt up to their eyeballs and die horrible unhealthy deaths every year. im not saying this system is justified, im saying it skews our statistics. the US is like south africa-- a delib…

So, wait, are you saying "the US doesn't have a social mobility problem, except for the large social mobility problem it has"? I don't really follow.

Re: Birth Rates Dropped Most in U.S. Counties Where Home Prices Grew Most

#305

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Anecdatum, but: My wife and I live in an expensive city. It's pretty fun. Except, we just had a child. She's pretty fun too. In fact, we think we might like another. She makes all the fun stuff in the city irrelevant (not heading to the bars these days), and the bad stuff in the city pretty horrible. * She's inhaling poison every morning I walk her to creche. * If I let her ride a bike on our street she will die. So,…

Fuck the job. Do your one kid a favor and have another kid. Siblings are just about the most useful things you can have in life.

I'm conflicted because the carbon footprint of another kid is substantial.

Then again, individual action is utterly meaningless. With ~8billion people it just doesn't matter what I do. Only large-scale action that brings about systemic changes matters. And hey, maybe one of my kids will be the one to help fix it!

Then again, if people viewed 2 as a nominal max then we'd still be on the right path (a bit below replacement rate would be OK generally speaking)

But I already brought one life in to the world when I worry about global collapse and am not sure I want to do that for another.

But siblings are pretty great!

But if I have an only child I can afford a better school for them..

Anyway, still thinking. So is the partner.

Also, "fuck the job" is easy to say except it's not my job, it's the opportunity for my partner to do the thing she's wanted to do her whole life and has worked her ass off for. It's crazy hard to actually build a career in museums and heritage (related... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16792942) and maybe she shouldn't have to give that up.

Then again, being in an industry where employment is that tenuous sounds like a crappy way to spend life.

Re: Birth Rates Dropped Most in U.S. Counties Where Home Prices Grew Most

#306
post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Life isn't automatically good!!! Bad parenting can, and does, create lives that are arguably better to have never existed.

I think it’s pretty patronizing to make this choice for other people. IMO, there’s only one person whose moral right it is to decide whether a life is worthwhile. And that’s the person whose life it is.

No there's not, because one lifeform's existed can effect others. Additionally when debating if life should come to be, the lifeform in question can't have an opinion until after the fact.

Re: Birth Rates Dropped Most in U.S. Counties Where Home Prices Grew Most

#307
post #169

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Yea and the majority of people don’t make anywhere near 400k. You still need a huge low paid workforce to get things running. Firemen, police, teacher, retail and grocery workers, cleaners, bus drivers, plumbers and the like.

I do not consider plumbers low-paid.

I would agree with you and I actually looked up some numbers. 56k was an average for an experienced plumber on his own. Not to mention they have to invest in tools.

Re: Birth Rates Dropped Most in U.S. Counties Where Home Prices Grew Most

#308

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If I earnt a million a year, I wouldn't be commuting more than 5 minutes to to work. Commuting sucks.

If you ever live with anyone else you will probably have to optimize multiple commutes (or proximity to other resources). Your salary likely won't have much impact on that decision.

In my particular case, I work at the same place as my wife.

Re: Birth Rates Dropped Most in U.S. Counties Where Home Prices Grew Most

#309
post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea and the majority of people don’t make anywhere near 400k. You still need a huge low paid workforce to get things running. Firemen, police, teacher, retail and grocery workers, cleaners, bus drivers, plumbers and the like.

I remember an article showing up a while back about a unionized BART janitor raking in nearly 300k.

So your example is one Janitor out of how many in SF?

Re: Birth Rates Dropped Most in U.S. Counties Where Home Prices Grew Most

#310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> which is why 1958 remains the peak year for teenage pregnancy in the USA. There are plenty more factors impacting teenage pregnancy than the cost of rent. I also hesitate to talk about teenage pregnancy rates in any sort of positive light. There is a very fine line between a 18yo married to her "high school sweetheart" who has a great job, and an unwed 17yo highschool senior who, in 1958 society, had a very rough…

The Pill came about in 1960, and probably had a large effect in reducing teen pregnancies. Legalizing abortion a large effect as well.

Sex / health education too made big difference.
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