Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 18:20     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Childfree by choice here. "Rich" (comparably), white, and educated.

We don't really like kids. We don't want to spend 20+ years raising them. We don't need them in our old age (and don't think it is wise to count on them), because we have $$$.

The idea of an adult, raised family is appealing, but we're not really willing to make the sacrifices it takes to get there and we find it, at best, a risky bet.


You may not need children later. You do though if you can't pay for a quadruple bypass or heart transplant out of pocket. You don't necessarily need your own children, but you need younger healthier people paying into the pool if you are counting on using health insurance for major health events.

Non wealthy people need someone's kids even more. The average senior who retires today wiil break even on SS, but will pull out two to three times what they paid into Medicare in real terms.


Oh yeah, agreed. And we happily pay our many thousands of dollars in property taxes to support the schools so other people's kids can grow up and become taxpayers
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 18:19     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Anonymous wrote:Childfree by choice here. "Rich" (comparably), white, and educated.

We don't really like kids. We don't want to spend 20+ years raising them. We don't need them in our old age (and don't think it is wise to count on them), because we have $$$.

The idea of an adult, raised family is appealing, but we're not really willing to make the sacrifices it takes to get there and we find it, at best, a risky bet.


You may not need children later. You do though if you can't pay for a quadruple bypass or heart transplant out of pocket. You don't necessarily need your own children, but you need younger healthier people paying into the pool if you are counting on using health insurance for major health events.

Non wealthy people need someone's kids even more. The average senior who retires today wiil break even on SS, but will pull out two to three times what they paid into Medicare in real terms.
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 18:16     Subject: Re:Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
If I could give mine back I'd have a nicer life.
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 18:11     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's not white people. It's rich people- children are incredibly expensive in the rich world with a huge opportunity cost.


Especially this.

Affluent women in the richest countries have absolute control over their fertility now, and no career choices are closed to them. Why get bogged down having a bunch of babies and then permanently side-tracking a promising career, when you don't need to?

Also? Parenting is frequently a drag and "we" are finally being honest about this dirty little secret. Ask your (white) grandmother in 1952 if being a Mom is all that, and you're sure to get a rosy, scripted response that "children are a blessing" blah blah. Ask me and my close friends and we'll give it to you straight: there are some indescribable upsides and a whole lot of serious and lifelong negative consequences to becoming a Mom.

Repeated quality of life surveys in the US reaffirm that "spending time parenting" and "having kids" are the very top negative events for most people -- worse than divorce, losing a job, death of certain loved ones and more.

Modern, professional women of child-bearing age are dealing with more information and many more good options than their predecessors. Who can blame them for taking a pass, as a demographic?


THIS !!
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 18:11     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 18:08     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Anonymous wrote:

Also? Parenting is frequently a drag and "we" are finally being honest about this dirty little secret. Ask your (white) grandmother in 1952 if being a Mom is all that, and you're sure to get a rosy, scripted response that "children are a blessing" blah blah. Ask me and my close friends and we'll give it to you straight: there are some indescribable upsides and a whole lot of serious and lifelong negative consequences to becoming a Mom.


17L59 here - I did ask my (white) grandmother that very question recently! Her kids were born roughly 1957 - 1965. I asked her if she liked being a mom, if she would have done it if she had other choices, and she just made a face and said "It was my responsibility. There wasn't a lot of choice."

She was kicked out of nursing school once after getting married and once after getting pregnant. She finally went on after her 2nd baby to finish nursing school, but not without a LOT of work and pressure from the (spinster) head of the program.

I don't want that life. And I'm a lot like her.
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 18:05     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Anonymous wrote:It's not white people. It's rich people- children are incredibly expensive in the rich world with a huge opportunity cost.


Especially this.

Affluent women in the richest countries have absolute control over their fertility now, and no career choices are closed to them. Why get bogged down having a bunch of babies and then permanently side-tracking a promising career, when you don't need to?

Also? Parenting is frequently a drag and "we" are finally being honest about this dirty little secret. Ask your (white) grandmother in 1952 if being a Mom is all that, and you're sure to get a rosy, scripted response that "children are a blessing" blah blah. Ask me and my close friends and we'll give it to you straight: there are some indescribable upsides and a whole lot of serious and lifelong negative consequences to becoming a Mom.

Repeated quality of life surveys in the US reaffirm that "spending time parenting" and "having kids" are the very top negative events for most people -- worse than divorce, losing a job, death of certain loved ones and more.

Modern, professional women of child-bearing age are dealing with more information and many more good options than their predecessors. Who can blame them for taking a pass, as a demographic?
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 17:59     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Childfree by choice here. "Rich" (comparably), white, and educated.

We don't really like kids. We don't want to spend 20+ years raising them. We don't need them in our old age (and don't think it is wise to count on them), because we have $$$.

The idea of an adult, raised family is appealing, but we're not really willing to make the sacrifices it takes to get there and we find it, at best, a risky bet.
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 17:58     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Pan-White Sad Gloominess is totally the name of my next band.
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 17:56     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Yes, all developed countries have low or too-low birth rates. Eventually, as developing countries catch up, their birth rates will also decline.
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 17:55     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
It's all the privilege and guilt.
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 17:54     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
It's not white people. It's rich people- children are incredibly expensive in the rich world with a huge opportunity cost.
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 17:53     Subject: Re:Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Troll. Stop making suppositions about race. Actually read, learn about the world.

Japan for example has a low birth rate:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2015/04/07/editorials/battling-the-low-birthrate/
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 17:52     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Economy?
Anonymous
Post 08/31/2015 17:50     Subject: Why are white people all around the world not having kids?
Is there a pan-white sadness and gloominess going around that is causing whites everywhere around the globe to have sub-replacement birth rates?