Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you do decide to wait longer, be aware that there are hilarious differences geographically. When we had our first kid in SF, the other dads pushing swings were around the same age as me (fortyish). Moving back to Georgia… oh my god, the parents of kids my second kid’s age were babies! (There are “graybeard dad” Facebook groups etc., but the average vibe is way different)
Crime rates in Georgia are higher. So there's that.
America’s incarceration rate is in decline
491–500 of 586 posts
Re: America’s incarceration rate is in decline
#492Earlier quoted context omitted.
Was also a young parent. Empathetic yes to all. Securing stable health insurance dictated most of my career decisions. I was captive to turrible gigs, had to pass on a lot of opportunities. Want to revitalize our society? #1 is Medicare for All. More startups, more risk taking & innovation, higher birth rate, etc. #2 is childcare. Cheap, plentiful, good quality. #3 is housing. Again: Cheap, plentiful, good quality. P…
> #2 is childcare. Cheap, plentiful, good quality. This costs infinite money. It's impossible to scale, because nobody wants an environment where their child is not getting attention from compassionate, engaged adults throughout the day. To get the same level of care as a stay at home parent, you need as many care workers as there are families with young children. And if you pay those workers comparably to the averag…
Re: America’s incarceration rate is in decline
#493Incarceration isn't the same thing as crime. If the most populous state by far (California, almost 40m people in 2025) passes a law[0] that stealing things under $950 is a misdemeanor rather than a felony, then crime can continue while incarceration rates drop. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_California_Proposition_47
The "California decriminalized theft" narrative is nonsense.
Re: America’s incarceration rate is in decline
#494While my Target puts Legos behind plexiglas. While my Safeway puts deodorant behind plexiglas. Statistics are amazing. Even crime stats are "down". Don't report, don't convict - done.
This points more towards organized crime rings targeting stores, taking large amounts of the same popular items, then reselling them on eBay or Amazon. If you have a smallish number of people doing a largish number of crimes, this won't be reflected in incarceration statistics (particularly if the resellers rarely get caught).
Re: America’s incarceration rate is in decline
#495Earlier quoted context omitted.
We don’t need airbags because injury can be prevented by seatbelts.
The "don't need" part is a fictitious part you inserted into the argument and not a claim I made. Injury "can be" prevented by seatbelts, that is a valid claim.
The implied meaning is: "Not both because one can be prevented by the other".
Re: America’s incarceration rate is in decline
#496Earlier quoted context omitted.
We did wait for the “perfect” time, and are very happy we did. I got my son at almost 40, and I’m positive I’m a much better parent because of that. Sure, kids cost energy, but at 40 and 50 you’re not geriatric. I often get the opportunity to compare our parenting style to younger parents, and it’s clear that they often have some emotional growing up to do themselves. They complain about normal parenting things that…
My wife and I had our first at age 15. Then another at 22. And our last at 27. I've raised children while on welfare and while a software engineer. I was more patient as a teen than I am now in my 40s. Now I am tired. All the time. I fear I would literally die of exhaustion if I had to maintain more irregular hours than I already do due to insomnia that I have developed over the last half decade.
Someone with no one to care about until their 40s is supposed to be in a much better shape than someone who raised three kids for the last +25 years.
Congrats on making it though, I completely understand why you would feel tired all the time!
Re: America’s incarceration rate is in decline
#497Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the act of having a child is much more deliberate and the parents likely having more resources This is both good and bad. Having a child is very difficult, but it gets harder as you get older. You lack a lot of monitory resources as a teen or the early 20s, but you have a lot more energy, as you get older your body starts decaying you will lack energy. A kid had at 40 will still be depending on your when you are 55…
> If you are 25 you should be seriously thinking in the next 2 years, and by 30 have them I need to push back on this because no one is actually an adult at the age of 25 despite those people wishing it were so. You do not have your shit figured out and assuming a partner of similar age, neither do they. It's only starting in your 30s where you start to understand what it is to be a responsible adult to yourself and…
It seems to me like when you move the definition of “adulthood” back to age X, fewer people function like adults prior to age X.
Re: America’s incarceration rate is in decline
#498Earlier quoted context omitted.
Crime reduction is strongly correlated with an aging population. Crime is largely a young man's game.
Young and hungry, without opportunity. Also something being cut with reduced food aid and education.
Re: America’s incarceration rate is in decline
#499Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lifestyle is key here. An older friend conveyed to me pretty much the exact same thing you are, that he cannot imagine having kids at 40 because you will not be able to keep up with them energy wise. You get old and your body really starts to give in. Alright Geoff, thanks, but you are 54 and do zero exercise, have a diet of eating out at fast food and fast casual restaurants, a body type that would be described as "…
Aging sucks! Obviously you can do everything wrong, and mess your body up pretty good. You can also do everything right, and just have bad luck. Lingering injury, hereditary health conditions, things add up. By the time you are in your 60s, it takes a combination of good habits and good luck to be in good shape. It's comforting to point to active older people and say "I'm going to grow up to be just like them". Just…
Re: America’s incarceration rate is in decline
#500Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lifestyle is key here. An older friend conveyed to me pretty much the exact same thing you are, that he cannot imagine having kids at 40 because you will not be able to keep up with them energy wise. You get old and your body really starts to give in. Alright Geoff, thanks, but you are 54 and do zero exercise, have a diet of eating out at fast food and fast casual restaurants, a body type that would be described as "…
Physical shape is not the same or even proportional to the ability to pull all-nighters. I know two men 18 years apart in age who became fathers at the same time - two months apart to be exact. Even though the older is an avid gym-goer, it's only the younger who can pull off popping back into full strength after less than 6h of sleep.