Reply to European Expansion: Eye-Opening, Frustrating, and Possibly Not Worth It

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Eh, I think birth rates are a better proxy for the health of a society as it measures optimism in industrialized societies with choices. The US wins — although not great. Happiness metrics are biased. You can argue life expectancy — but lower life expectancy in the US has little to do with work life balance. In fact, working longer can keep you mentally sharp and alive. [/quote]

This isn’t true anymore.  [b]France and some Scandinavian countries are now higher and US is generally the same as most other 1st world European countries ([/b]though Bulgaria is the highest).

The Europe rates are actually heading up while the US continues to decline.  It’s much cheaper to be a parent in Europe with generous maternity/paternity, free healthcare, free pre school, etc.

Honestly, best thing you could do is get a transfer to a European country when you are having kids and stay through like 6 and then move back to the states.  You qualify for all those benefits as long as you have all the proper work visas.[/quote]

France and the US are neck-and-neck. 1.64 versus 1.62

Regardless if the generous social benefits in European countries are so effective they would result in higher birth rates than a place like the US. Instead the US and European countries all have very similar birth rates.

at the end of the day what matters is disposable income and salaries, which Europeans have less of. Even a year of paid maternity leave, is only a year.

A lot of the benefits also aren’t as generous as Americans would like to believe. In most countries it’s a max of a few hundred dollars a week. In the UK it’s $250.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_fertility_rate

[/quote]

Last I saw the UK wasn’t Scandinavia or France.

Again…the US keeps heading lower…it hasn’t plateaud…the trend is not your friend.[/quote]

Again, all western countries are in the same range. It’s disingenuous to suggest there is a material difference between Scandinavian countries and the US. Regardless, the US has a higher birth rate than both Norway and Sweden.  [/quote]

The US is declining…that matters…it will be lower unless something dramatic turns it around.

I was responding to whatever the $250 referenced was in the UK.[/quote]

Ding ding ding!
Here you go. I'll try to dig up the study, but the wealth difference is getting worse. If Europeans only look at glamorous america and social media and the lifestyle they see of their American counterparts who are highly educated white collars-- they definitely don't see the whole picture. [b]The majority of Americans don't have any safety net[/b] and live paycheck to paycheck and possibly go without insurance and some medications. 
[img]https://i.imgur.com/FI1ucss.png[/img][/quote]

This is often repeated but far from the truth. The US has fairly generous benefits starting with the earned income tax credit that sends thousands back to each low income family.

Then there is Medicaid, state add ons to Medicaid, food stamps, daycare vouchers, subsidized housing etc.

There is far from no safety net. I’d argue the difference is there are not largess social programs for the middle class. [/quote]

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