How concerned are you about the declining birth rate in the USA?

25 comments

1. We still have enough immigration to offset it

2. Zero concern.

3. I have my replacement spawn in place so we’re all good.

   Now I just have to make sure they stay alive.

4. Not concerned at all really. We have plenty of people who want to immigrate here, so I really don’t see anything to worry about

5. not concerned

6. I know a lot of people who would have more kids if it was economically or socially viable, so from that perspective, it’s sad. These are mostly people who stopped at 2 but if they could easily afford a nanny or other domestic help, would happily have had more. Or people who started late so that women could have a career.

   I also know that the pressure to have kids is way, way down from 50 years ago and access to birth control is way, way up. So from that perspective, a lower birth rate is wonderful. People who don’t want kids aren’t having them as often.

   Feom a “future of America” perspective, we’re extremely attractive to immigrants and pretty welcoming of them, so we aren’t facing the sort of old people heavy demographic pyramid that places with low birth rates and little immigration are facing. So it really isn’t worrying.

7. It’s disturbing as it reflects a declining optimism in the future. Or, perhaps a declining in the view that the future matters.

   Regarding the population decline itself, we’re lucky that immigrants want to come here, as society depends on a healthy mix of ages and things will go awry very quickly if we don’t have that.

8. I’m not concerned

9. I’m a proud contributer to the low birthing rate

10. Zero.

11. I’m concerned about the causes; environmental factors, cultural factors, economic factors. But not the fact that the birth rate is declining if that makes sense.

12. More concerned about our abysmal infant mortality rate.

13. This may help with the declining number of teachers.

14. I’ve spent exactly zero minutes thinking about this.

    I’m neither worried nor happy. We’ll be fine

15. Honestly, after generations of “Don’t have kids if you can’t afford them”, a lot of people are finding that they can’t afford kids, so they’re not having them.

    For my part, I wish demographers would make up their damn minds. When I was a kid, experts would not shut up about the Malthusian Population-Bomb that was going to ruin us all with overpopulation, now experts are complaining about birthrates being disastrously low. *Pick one.*

16. As a contributer I’m not worried at all.

17. If the government wanted more couples to have kids, they should make it easier to raise them!

18. I think our economic systems need to change because the current “unlimited growth” model seems unsustainable given how populations are declining around the world now.

    My main concern is that, instead of being proactive about it, people will stubbornly cling to the old ways until it ends in a disaster which *forces* things to change.

19. I’m concerned by the causes

20. I’m not concerned. I haven’t found the article yet that explains why it’s bad. They just say it’s bad because it’s declining, which I interpret to mean it’s bad because less consumers.

21. I’m happy to do my part.

22. I am terrified of what is going to happen to the public pension, not just in our own country but in all developed countries, when such a large share of the population is simply not able to work.

23. I’m thrilled about fewer people, but the reason why people aren’t having children, on the other hand, I’m not thrilled about.

24. Not at all, we’re the most popular place ro immigrate to on the planet. The population won’t collapse like China or Japan as long as that happens.

25. We literally have millions of people around the world that would do anything to live here. I’m not even remotely concerned. That said, I’d like it to be easier to have a family here. The main reason for the more recent declines in birth rate (at least among my peers) is cost of living.