Not Enough Babies?

[Hay Dude]

And they all spend money in the local economy, feed their families, and pay taxes.

I mean whats a healthy balance? Right now it looks like 1 in 7 people work for it.

What do you think it should be?

 

[plowhog]

A family member of mine used to investigate Medical fraud in CA. Here was one that was investigated:

Woman (according to welfare claims) lives alone with her two kids. Investigator has report of father in the home, which would potentially invalidate a lot of $$ in welfare benefits. The big money welfare payments are to single mothers only. Investigator knocks on door of the home at 8:30am. Father answers door in underwear. Says he does not live in the home, just babysits (his) kids. He said he lives across the street, and was babysitting for the mom when he fell asleep on the couch. The mom was out on the town the night prior. Untouchable per CA regulations.

She gets the highest welfare benefits based on the children, free rent via Section 8, food stamps, and AFDC (aid to families with dependent children.) Her doctor diagnosed her with "chronic fatigue syndrome" so that opened up Social Security disability. (Late 20's with 2 kids= chronic fatigue.) Total income about $45k annually-- that was 15 years ago. No job, no work.

So the high income earners and the no income earners can afford children. It's those in the middle getting the squeeze.

 

[ultrarunner]

Yep... it's the 8-5 guy treading water.

My high school friend was one of 4 daughters with a stay at home mom taking care of I'll grandma in the basement... 2 bedroom home plus basement for 6 and only dad working for ATT

Next door home sells it's 3 bedrooms and 3 baths and 500 square feet larger.

A single mom with a son and newborn daughter move in next door with Section 8.

She said she had to move so the son and daughter wouldn't be sharing a bedroom... it was this way for decades.

So the working man living close to the vest doing his best and next door with a gardner a family of 3 paying then $105 of a then $900 rent.

 

[CalG]

I guess the wife and I lived in the golden ages. Kids were more valuable than gold, and we never even thought of how much they might "cost" .
We made a deal to our family that one of us would stay home and care for the young ones.

It worked, but I'm a miser, and my wife is frugal.

The kids did not go wanting...

;-)

 

[Coffee drinker]

I mean whats a healthy balance? Right now it looks like 1 in 7 people work for it.

What do you think it should be?

The federal public sector in Canada has grown by roughly 100,000 jobs since 2015. Almost 40 percent.

 

[Joel/ak]

I guess we should have played the system better.....nah

We waited til almost 40 to have our daughter. Lived life while young but yet financially stable for the kid.

Obviously not perfect for everyone but worked for us. Wife doesn't work so instead of schools and daycare raising our kid, she's raised our way.

Like I said, doesn't work for everyone's situation

 

[paulsharvey]

We were kinda in the middle as far as age; I was 22 and wife was 19 when we had my son; then daughter 6 years later, and youngest 3 years after that. Wife said she wasn't having any kids after 30. I see guys my age, 41, having kids, and think; man, I'm glad we had kids a bit earlier in life.

 

[jyoutz]

I mean whats a healthy balance? Right now it looks like 1 in 7 people work for it.

What do you think it should be?

What do I think it should be? No idea. I don’t think it’s as simple as some ratio. People and states like certain government services such as police, fire departments, schools, national defense, national forests and parks, roads and other infrastructure, public welfare, etc… There are 330 million people in the United States, so obviously these services are more extensive and costly than 100 years ago. What services are desired is determined by people and delivered by Congress. Congress both determines what services will be delivered and how much they will fund. Due to the nature of a diverse population in this large country, there will always be disagreements about what services are desirable and what aren’t. That is the nature of our representative republic. Nobody will ever be satisfied because it’s all a compromise. One thing that many people forget is how much private industry and small businesses depend on government spending. Our economy would completely collapse without it.

 

[ultrarunner]

It could be that the lions share of the services purchased have little to nothing to show?

Hundreds of millions spent on Bay Area homeless and very few success stories...

For the money per individual could have bought condos for many...

I think the county model is more in line with revenue and expenditures... just thinking out loud.

 

[jyoutz]

I dont know that birthrate is really 1 to 1 tied to close of living. I think a big part of it is societal pressure, pushing people to wait until their 30s to have kids. If you wait till your 30+; that pretty much means you looking at maybe 3, max of 4 kids; and likely 1 or 2.

Societal pressure or just being prudent to become established and financially stable in their jobs before having kids? My oldest son is 29, and he and his wife are expecting any day now with child #1. They were not financially ready at age 21 to provide for a child.