Opus 2018-126: Headlines: Where Have All the Babies Gone

The lead story at the Washington Free Beacon dealt with a decline in the birth rate in America.  This is not a new issue.  The graph they showed had a steady decline for over 10 years.  They gave a lot of reasons for the decline including some who are blaming it on President Trump.  Go figure.

Some of the theories are just liberal boiler plate.  For instance, one of their big reasons for the decline in the birth rate was economic problems.  People felt like they could not afford to have children.  This was obviously written by someone who didn’t get out much.  The decrease in the number of children is not obvious in the poorer areas.  I used to work at a school full of poor people and those women just kept pumping them out.  It is the wealthy that are having fewer children.  Actually I should say the middle classes.  I don’t know many wealthy people but I do know a few in the middle classes.  It is amazing how many of my children’s generation are not having children.  They are educated and have good jobs.  They are wonderful people who would make great parents.  They don’t seem to be able to have children.

Then there is a theory I picked up on some fly-by-night web site somewhere in my foggy memory.  Their theory was that since it is cool to be thin women are not having children.  It wasn’t the obvious look of pregnancy.  It had to do with the theory of evolution and how women were designed so that if they did not have enough body fat their fertility would go down.  It was supposed to protect them during times of famine.  Since the poor tend to be more obese it stands to reason that the fashion conscious yuppies and millennials have a harder time getting pregnant.

I think the lower birth rate is a sign of economic prosperity.  It has been noted that as societies get wealthier the birth rate declines.  As health care improves the birth rate declines.  If you know your children are going to live you know you don’t need to many to guarantee some will survive.  If you know you can buy a tractor and milking machines you don’t need so many for labor around the farm. 

So up to a certain point the declining birth rate can be a plus factor.  Just because I want more grandchildren doesn’t mean it is going to happen.

homo unius libri