Maybe this should be rephrased as, "Americans have little hope for the future, and that's bad for the economy", since that seems to be the root issue for more than just this particular expression of American hopelessness
Economists!
The author briefly points out that children born today might live to see the 22nd Century, but clearly hasn't spent much time actually envisioning that century, using humanity's apparent trajectory as a basis.
I will need to know as a concerned, prospective parent, to which post-cataclysmic vassal should my hypothetical child indenture themselves to, if they wish to maximize their chances of living through the Age of Thirst?
What schools in my area can teach my child the skills necessary to deescalate an armed conflict with a band of Sand Slayers laying siege to a former Amazon distribution center?
And in all seriousness, what can I pass down to them that would make up for the fact that I've dragged them into a world set on fire and wasted by unchecked greed?
And did you notice that this article didn't mention adoption whatsoever? That there are already kids in need of a family, whose parents apparently never drafted the Excel spreadsheet, and are suffering through this grim period along with us, whether we're here for them or not? I guess that information doesn't fit into their dated narrative, worrying over their youngsters' biological clocks, seeing a countdown timer on their own contribution to a gene pool instead of wishing the best for their society.
It's actually closer to 20%. There's over 30 million Americans on state or federal unemployment insurance. https://wolfstreet.com/2020/07/23/media-continues-to-misrepo...
Meanwhile, families in war-torn African countries, people whose best aspirations in life are to own a flock of sheep and live on a farm, are having 6+ kids.
Low birth rates may be exacerbated at the moment by the economy, but people's preference for their careers and the quality and availability of modern entertainment (why raise kids when you can travel, binge watch shows on Netflix, play video games, etc.) are more probable causes.
Your comment fits your name, it is callous, lacking empathy and painfully out of touch. The idea that Netflix is the reason people aren't having kids in simply absurd...
Greater incomes give one access to more of the finer things in life, which distracts from family planning. For better or worse.
How can you get this close
>Greater incomes give one access to more of the finer things in life, which distracts from family planning
And still come to the wrong conclusion.
I promise you that high school dropouts with 5 kids are watching more netflix and playing more video games than a couple with graduate degrees from Stanford.