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As women have far fewer babies, the U.S. and the world face unprecedented challenges (www.npr.org)

submitted 3 days ago by Powderhorn@beehaw.org to c/usnews@beehaw.org

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"I think it probably should be a concern for the government, the declining birth rate," Sarah Brewington told NPR. "There is going to come a time when everyone is retiring and there's not going to be a workforce."

Many researchers believe this accelerating global shift is being driven in large part by a positive reality. Young couples, and women in particular, have far more freedom and economic independence. They're weighing their options and appear to be making very different choices about the role of children in their lives.

"It's not that people don't like kids as much as they used to," said Melissa Kearney, an economist who studies fertility and population trends at the University of Notre Dame. "There's just a lot of other available options. They can invest in their careers, take more leisure time — it's much more socially acceptable."

This change in decision-making and behavior appears to be accelerating. New research from the United Nations found that the number of children born to the average woman worldwide has reached the lowest point ever recorded. In every country and every culture, women are having fewer than half as many children as they did in the 1960s.

I, for one, am glad I got snipped. I've no interest in contributing to this pyramid scheme.

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[–] Gaywallet@beehaw.org 13 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

“There is going to come a time when everyone is retiring and there’s not going to be a workforce.”

Well there certainly wont be a workforce if we keep framing immigration as only murderers and thieves and trying our hardest to deport them all (and a bunch of legal citizens in the process).

I find it interesting that this article takes the framing of freedom, options, and a positive reality. Where's the mention of cost? If your average worker is struggling to get by paycheck to paycheck more than 50 years ago, is it really surprising that less people are willing to take on the financial burden of kids?

And what of thinking about the future of our planet as a whole? We're cooking the planet and many of the young adults alive today know they'll be facing dire times in the upcoming decades. If I were younger and considering kids I would surely think twice knowing my kids would be drafted into the climate wars...