Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

vox.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 134 posts

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

#81

Post by rootusrootus »

purple-again wrote: post #72
justboxing wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> red pill / incel incel = Involuntarily Celibate. What's red pill? Also, how does the 'Nu male' relates to, or is different from an incel dude?

Red Pill comes from a famous late 90’s Sci Fi movie called The Matrix. The main characters world is not exactly what it appears to be at first and he is offered a choice of the red pill which would show him the truth or the blue pill that would keep him living the lie. It has since been picked up by many communities as a way of saying they are ‘woke’ to the truth. It is currently in widespread use amongst the communi…

FWIW, r/TheRedPill definitely still exists.

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

#82

Post by rootusrootus »

baudehlo wrote: post #49
nunez wrote: post #34

Why would we have kids and suffer when we could not have kids and enjoy life to the fullest? We make just enough to have a really good life without kids or have a really stressful life with them. We don’t even have a house yet (and I mostly don’t want one, but that’s another conversation). I ran the numbers, and I didn’t like the outcome. Everyone that I know that has kids is sleep deprived, unable to do much of anyt…

I was totally the same. Just had my first 9mo ago. I’m exhausted. I’m 44 years old (and not financially stable yet due to divorce). It’s hard work at this age. But is it worth it? Absolutely. I had no affection for children at all before this. I don’t (even now) like other people’s kids that much. But today I came home from a long day of filing SR&ED paperwork (Canadian research tax benefit) and my daughter would jus…

44 with a 9 month old? I feel for you :). I consider myself a late starter by having my first kid seven and a half years ago (I am also 44 right now). Many times I've considered that this would definitely be easier if I were twenty years younger. Wouldn't be nearly so financially stable however, so that's a trade off.

I'm totally with you on how awesome kids are. They are hard work, expensive, and ... totally worth it. Wouldn't give up my boy & girl for anything. Ambivalent about other people's kids, but I try to be polite.

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

#83

Post by jschwartzi »

chillwaves wrote: post #55
alf-pogz wrote: post #29

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.

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).

Yeah, on this same forum we complain constantly about how automation is going to remove a bunch of jobs. Wouldn't having fewer kids solve that problem really nicely?

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

#84

Post by tankerslay »

AIX2ESXI wrote: post #9
devereaux wrote: post #5

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…

>The traditional routes and social contract are broken.

There is definitely some truth here. Can you find a partner and/or community of people who share your understanding of the traditional social expectations?

PUA is a community of sorts, but also has core beliefs so inimical to the opposite sex that it doesn't seem very sustainable.

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

#85

Post by freeflight »

8bitsrule wrote: post #6

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.

There's already 7,6 billion of us, tendency rising, I see no good reason why I should contribute to that number growing even faster because it seems already unsustainable enough as it is.

In that context, I see especially no reason to have any biologically related offspring. It's not like there's a shortage of orphans, because adoption might just as well be another option to actualize this inherent need to "leave something lasting behind as to give purpose to our existence", by passing on values and life-lessons.

Too bad the barrier of entry to that is usually very high, I guess for good reasons.

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

#86

Post by freeflight »

wvenable wrote: post #60
ryanx435 wrote: post #19

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.

> Now children are a source of financial cost, not benefit, and thus it doesn't make sense for poor people to have them.

Yet it's low-income households who have the highest birth rates [0] afaik this isn't unique to the US, in Germany the situation looks similar.

It's extremely interesting how this relation between income&fertility doesn't just hold true on a country vs country scale, but also on a domestic level inside these countries, there must be something very fundamental at work here.

[0] https://www.statista.com/statistics/241530/birth-rate-by-fam...

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

#87

Post by AIX2ESXI »

joejerryronnie wrote: post #39
AIX2ESXI wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much appreciated man. Yeah, I have been doing the digital nomad lifestyle and lived abroad for a few weeks at a time for the past five years. I do see the trap that befalls most expats and am aware of risks. The months that I spend abroad are the happiest time of my life, when I come back to the states and can't get a date, am told I am toxic and a potential rapist and have to live in a city where homelessness is spi…

If you are constantly getting turned down for dates, you are doing something wrong - probably approaching the wrong kind of people in the first place. Instead of looking for the super hot chick at the bar and then using cheesy pickup lines, why don't you seek out people who share your same interests, even if they don't seem like "your type". Most times you'll find their company vastly more enjoyable than the hot bar…

Appreciate the advice Man. Being from born and raised in L.A I admit to being a little superficial. A doctor here once stated "LA is a bunch of sevens, trying to be tens, chasing elevens". The potential rapist thing is because I work in academia and there is a lot of awareness emails that go to my email and mandatory orientation, etc. Just gets to be a bit much. I mean every boy got the raping is wrong talk when we were 13 right,?

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

#88

Post by AIX2ESXI »

spurcell93 wrote: post #75
AIX2ESXI wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read a lot of studies and listen to political scientist lectures who draw the same conclusions that I do (Charles Murray. Victor David Hanson). Most times, I am too lazy to link to the case studies or books that discuss my points. Guilty as charged for having strong opinions; however, when I try to discuss them I am attacked, vilified and down voted into oblivion. Do this often enough and you will start to get rese…

Self expression is all well and good, but when participating in a discussion, we'd all be much better served if you didn't hurl offensive and ungrounded insults at large segments of the population. Curmudgeonly is one way to put it; immature and ignorant is another.

thanks.

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

#89

Post by SocialEngin33r »

AIX2ESXI wrote: post #9
devereaux wrote: post #5

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…

Duuuude, just get a Nintendo Switch. Fuel up on some soylent. Watch an inspirational TED Talk, and you'll feel great in no time.

I used to think I'd be alone forever, then my old high school sweetheart got divorced from her terrible [broke] first husband and got with me. I'm teaching her son how to program. Life has never been better.

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

#90

Post by SocialEngin33r »

chillwaves wrote: post #51
AIX2ESXI wrote: 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…

> 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.

I think introducing HN to the soy boy meme is a huge contribution to the community to be honest. I'm not even joking.
Post reply on HN