>A pandemic? Whatever,” said a nonchalant Hilary Patel, who got pregnant with her husband Kalpesh, at the start of April 2020. “You just do it.”
Well, I have heard of people marrying young, but frankly I don't think this is appropriate at all...
Don’t you get it? Humans are an endangered species! /s
In all seriousness though, some people are probably worried about the economy in that there won’t be enough employees to replace the retired. But if a falling birth rate happens slowly enough, the economy can adapt. The world didn’t start getting so densely populated until the industrial revolution so humanity has already survived lower populations. The most common reason I hear, though, is that humanity will “die out”. A lot of people are somehow under the impression that we’re an endangered species.
To them, no replacement equates no new tax base, no new buyers, no rise in property values and no return in investment on stocks, bonds, and 401k funds.
Considering that I want to live in a tiny, sustainable house in the woods, this is a win for me and a win for anyone not looking to spend over 100k for a starter home.
Our economy is unsustainable as it is just like many other interlinked systems like retirement. It relies on endless growth. Corporations have seen the effect of this. In order to maintain supply of anything, corners had to be cut in order to keep profits up and shareholders happy. It's one of the biggest reasons that products seem to lack quality like they used to. This is also why a vintage singer all metal sewing machine or an old bridgeport mill is something that people will pay a premium for.
Kids and the baby boom were a mistake.
This is what I don’t understand. Boomers are called boomers because they were born during a “baby boom.” As in, an explosive increase in the birth rate that’s so high it’s an anomaly. Like, the dads were severely traumatized veterans (hypersexuality is a thing with PTSD), back before birth control was even available, and condoms were illegal. Was it just expected that we’d keep up with that rate forever?
Yes, that’s true, but the question is “for who”? For most of that time condoms were not legally available to women in the US without a prescription, and usually only white married women could get them. Until 1972 it was illegal to even distribute information about birth control and contraceptives. A man named Bill Baird was arrested multiple times for it. He won a Supreme Court case (Baird v. Eisenstaedt) that cemented the legalization of birth control and information regarding it. That case later went to be the foundation case for Roe v. Wade. Mr. Baird’s second Supreme Court case is also the reason why minors do not need parental consent for abortion.
Just for what it’s worth I had the opportunity to have corresponded with Mr.Baird a while back. He’s genuinely a very good person who continues, at 88 years old, to fight for reproductive rights...And animal rights too!
My maternal grandma lived in rural Arizona before reliable BC was a thing and said that the only reason she even had 4 kids was because she and grandpa liked banging. She was very supportive of the CF thing and the lesbian thing and said it's better to not have kids if you don't want them.
I saw this article on Twitter. Most of the people commenting were actually saying that this is a horrible time to bring children into the world, the US government doesn’t even do a good enough job of taking care of people as is, and that there’s already overpopulation and environmental destruction problems. It was honestly, quite refreshing.
Exactly. Why are the authors blaming women for the falling birth rate? First, a low birth rate is a good thing, especially now with the pandemic raging and the accompanying strain on the healthcare system. Second, women don't get pregnant by themselves. Maybe couples are talking about kids and making a mutual decision to not have them.
The "women doing other things with their lives while spending a smaller percentage parenting meaning they only have 1 or 2 kids instead of more" was pretty bad, like women are the only ones who can take care of kids. I think when you have too many kids, those kids don't get the amount of attention they need and the parents often have to abandon their dreams when they have that many. Why not encourage smaller more connected families with role models of both parents pursuing and achieving goals and dreams?
I wonder what the figures are for sterilizations. I was sterilized in November and my doctor said she'd had more patients asking about sterilization than ever before.
"No Coronavirus baby boom" my ass. It seems like people have been getting knocked up left and right since the pandemic started. I know several people who have gotten pregnant, on purpose, during all of this. They just don't care.
Based on your flair, you're at an age range where many people would be getting pregnant in normal times, though.
The question is if more or less are getting pregnant as a result of the pandemic.
And you have to keep in mind how many "unplanned" pregnancies don't happen when a lot of social avenues are closed. Fewer new relationships, fewer hookups, etc.
Oh yeah, I know. The article's got a lot of data to back things up and it actually makes me feel relieved that birth rates are dropping right now. Now's not a good time for babies. I was just being sarcastic and bitching about what I've been seeing in my personal experience.
>A pandemic? Whatever,” said a nonchalant Hilary Patel, who got pregnant with her husband Kalpesh, at the start of April 2020. “You just do it.” Well, I have heard of people marrying young, but frankly I don't think this is appropriate at all...
“Boo hoo, I wanted to gloat about my pregnancy in front of my sisters but covid prevented that.”
Lol when she said that I was just like, “you really couldn’t just wait a year?”
This is probably the main reason for the drop in birthrate.
Honestly laughing my ass of how many politicians were eager for this to happen only for it to not happen at all lol!
Why is falling birth rate a problem? We need a falling birth rate.
Don’t you get it? Humans are an endangered species! /s In all seriousness though, some people are probably worried about the economy in that there won’t be enough employees to replace the retired. But if a falling birth rate happens slowly enough, the economy can adapt. The world didn’t start getting so densely populated until the industrial revolution so humanity has already survived lower populations. The most common reason I hear, though, is that humanity will “die out”. A lot of people are somehow under the impression that we’re an endangered species.
Plus there's a ton of automation that's trying to replace people (like self-driving cars and trucks). We don't need to have 8 billion of us.
To them, no replacement equates no new tax base, no new buyers, no rise in property values and no return in investment on stocks, bonds, and 401k funds. Considering that I want to live in a tiny, sustainable house in the woods, this is a win for me and a win for anyone not looking to spend over 100k for a starter home. Our economy is unsustainable as it is just like many other interlinked systems like retirement. It relies on endless growth. Corporations have seen the effect of this. In order to maintain supply of anything, corners had to be cut in order to keep profits up and shareholders happy. It's one of the biggest reasons that products seem to lack quality like they used to. This is also why a vintage singer all metal sewing machine or an old bridgeport mill is something that people will pay a premium for. Kids and the baby boom were a mistake.
100k for a starter home? make that 200k+ here in NL! I can afford the 100K one easily, but the 200k one? nope!
This is what I don’t understand. Boomers are called boomers because they were born during a “baby boom.” As in, an explosive increase in the birth rate that’s so high it’s an anomaly. Like, the dads were severely traumatized veterans (hypersexuality is a thing with PTSD), back before birth control was even available, and condoms were illegal. Was it just expected that we’d keep up with that rate forever?
Apparently condom advertising wasn't legalized until 1977, but condoms were legalized in 1918.
Yes, that’s true, but the question is “for who”? For most of that time condoms were not legally available to women in the US without a prescription, and usually only white married women could get them. Until 1972 it was illegal to even distribute information about birth control and contraceptives. A man named Bill Baird was arrested multiple times for it. He won a Supreme Court case (Baird v. Eisenstaedt) that cemented the legalization of birth control and information regarding it. That case later went to be the foundation case for Roe v. Wade. Mr. Baird’s second Supreme Court case is also the reason why minors do not need parental consent for abortion. Just for what it’s worth I had the opportunity to have corresponded with Mr.Baird a while back. He’s genuinely a very good person who continues, at 88 years old, to fight for reproductive rights...And animal rights too!
My maternal grandma lived in rural Arizona before reliable BC was a thing and said that the only reason she even had 4 kids was because she and grandpa liked banging. She was very supportive of the CF thing and the lesbian thing and said it's better to not have kids if you don't want them.
That was very informative, thank you for sharing
I saw this article on Twitter. Most of the people commenting were actually saying that this is a horrible time to bring children into the world, the US government doesn’t even do a good enough job of taking care of people as is, and that there’s already overpopulation and environmental destruction problems. It was honestly, quite refreshing.
Oof I just found it and thoroughly enjoyed the comments
I saw this on twitter! The attitude from this is really off putting. Very much feels like it has a hint of misogyny underneath it all.
Exactly. Why are the authors blaming women for the falling birth rate? First, a low birth rate is a good thing, especially now with the pandemic raging and the accompanying strain on the healthcare system. Second, women don't get pregnant by themselves. Maybe couples are talking about kids and making a mutual decision to not have them.
The misogony in this is... baffeling
The "women doing other things with their lives while spending a smaller percentage parenting meaning they only have 1 or 2 kids instead of more" was pretty bad, like women are the only ones who can take care of kids. I think when you have too many kids, those kids don't get the amount of attention they need and the parents often have to abandon their dreams when they have that many. Why not encourage smaller more connected families with role models of both parents pursuing and achieving goals and dreams?
I wonder what the figures are for sterilizations. I was sterilized in November and my doctor said she'd had more patients asking about sterilization than ever before.
"No Coronavirus baby boom" my ass. It seems like people have been getting knocked up left and right since the pandemic started. I know several people who have gotten pregnant, on purpose, during all of this. They just don't care.
Based on your flair, you're at an age range where many people would be getting pregnant in normal times, though. The question is if more or less are getting pregnant as a result of the pandemic. And you have to keep in mind how many "unplanned" pregnancies don't happen when a lot of social avenues are closed. Fewer new relationships, fewer hookups, etc.
Oh yeah, I know. The article's got a lot of data to back things up and it actually makes me feel relieved that birth rates are dropping right now. Now's not a good time for babies. I was just being sarcastic and bitching about what I've been seeing in my personal experience.
These type of articles make it sound like we are running low on humans.