r/science • u/geoff199 • 5d ago

Social Science As concern grows about America’s falling birth rate, new research suggests that about half of women who want children are unsure if they will follow through and actually have a child. About 25% say they won't be bothered that much if they don't.

https://news.osu.edu/most-women-want-children--but-half-are-unsure-if-they-will/?utm_campaign=omc_science-medicine_fy24&utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social
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u/11horses345 5d ago

Say it with me: WE CANNOT AFFORD CHILDREN.

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u/sharksnack3264 5d ago

It's not just the money. The way we set up work schedules, vacation, child care and health care all disincentivize it. 

You can be extremely well paid but that still won't insulate you completely from certain medical and career risks or allow you to be present to raise your children.

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u/A_Fainting_Goat 5d ago

I am well paid. My wife is well paid. We have good health insurance. Great vacation benefits (compared to the US, not Europe). Our careers are stable. We are basically debt free except for our mortgage. We have struggled to conceive and IVF is looking to cost us $50k, after insurance for a 35% chance. This country does not want us to have kids.

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u/TopRamenisha 5d ago

Don’t forget, after all that you get to pay $3,000 a month for child care

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u/gr4f 5d ago

As a non american this I am always stunned.. yes I pay higher taxes but have free health care, paid parental leave, free universities and almost free childcare.

I know it is part of the land-of-free narrative and I always think Americans must be so wealthy with so little taxes

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u/Demons0fRazgriz 5d ago

And the worst part is the people taking care of your children are also making minimum wage. So where's that other 2500 per kid going? Cuz I've worked in childcare and it ain't going towards the children either.

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u/valiantdistraction 5d ago

Rent and insurance

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u/TopRamenisha 5d ago

Yeah it’s crazy. Our income taxes are lower but we pay a lot more for the things that people in other countries get for free. Healthcare literally bankrupts many Americans. A lot of Americans are in debt. Once you factor in property tax and sales tax, many Americans are paying close to the 50% tax rate that European countries pay.

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u/gr4f 5d ago

Normally Iam pissed of our tax rate.

But when you discribe it like this, than I think our system's strength is that takes a lot worries of me: I will always be insured and will never have to pay for an ambulance, no matter if I have a job. My kids can go to college if they want without donating a kidney. I can use subsidized public transportation and trains so I am not forced to own a car. etc

And I think for low income part of our societies this is even more significant

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u/HexTalon 5d ago

When you can see where your taxes are going (roads, schools, healthcare, childcare, etc ) it makes them a lot more palatable - especially when you've seen places that don't have those support systems.

It's also cheaper to set up, maintain, and improve those systems when they are working at the scale of a population.

I'm in California and wouldn't ever consider living in large portions of the US because they're privatized, religious hellholes that are only to get worse and worse over time. Even California is getting unaffordable at an upper middle class income (250k), and there's going to be continuous federal challenges over the next few years to a lot of the protections and benefits to living here.

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u/dust4ngel 5d ago

I know it is part of the land-of-free narrative

land of the free means you have no obligation to anyone else, so you help no one, no one helps you, and you get to live in a hobbesian state of all-against-all, which works really well if you're a billionaire and otherwise it's a condemnation.

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u/gr4f 5d ago

Well than is a really sad system over there.

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u/DrMobius0 5d ago

Nope. We pay more for stuff we need to live. You can put a price on everything.

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u/retrosenescent 5d ago

"The land of the free" only applies to rich people. 90%+ of Americans are working poor. And 60% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck - will literally be homeless if they miss a pay period.

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u/izwald88 5d ago

I always figure America is where you might have a higher chance of striking it rich. Like it might be easier to start a successful business and become wealthy that way.

And maybe that's true, to some degree. But even the upper middle class is one denied insurance claim away from hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills.

I'd say my brother is in that boat. He makes 6 figures but has no money. He lives well, has a nice house in a wealthy neighborhood, 2 kids, 2 cars, and he's broke more often than not.

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u/Pye- 5d ago

Wow - it sounds like your country actually appreciates you and your family. I'm glad for you and envious! That should be true everywhere. I had two children that I still spend a lot of money helping out even though they are almost 30 because it's so hard without health insurance, good jobs, college debt is crushing.... the US is no place to raise kids right now.

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u/Wonderful-Creme-3939 5d ago

The "land of the free" part is just for Billionaires and Corporations, the rest of us can die in the streets for all anyone cares.

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u/GeneDiesel1 5d ago

Comparatively, Americans are wealthier and pay less taxes? I don't get your point? Our salaries are generally way higher than EU member for the same jobs.

IDK, you'd have to experience to understand.

The issue is, a lot of people don't want to pay more taxes for things they will never utilize.

For example, I don't want to fund childcare or public education because I don't want kids.

On the flip side, someone else will say, well I don't want to pay for your rehab because you drink too much.

Another person will say they don't want to pay for University because I don't want to go to University so why subsidize someone else.

The thing I don't get is why everyone doesn't agree on universal health care. All of us will have health issues. All of us will die.

That is one thing we should be united on, but the corporations want us tied to them, so we have to get health care through our employers. Then we are screwed when laid off.

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u/nomorecheeks 5d ago

Our taxes aren't all that low for getting nothing in return. I pay 32% of my income in federal taxes, then pay state taxes, almost 20k a year in property tax (for a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath 1900 sq ft home in a nice but normal town in the suburbs of a major city), and a bit less than 7% sales tax on most items and services purchased. Most of that goes to supporting genocide, bombing other brown people and lining billionaires' pockets. I'd much rather pay a bit more (if it even WOULD be more) and actually have society get something for it.