If the government wants me to have kids, they had better incentivize it.
Plenty of countries do those things, Quebec is a great example. Universal healthcare, subsidized daycare, baby bonus payments. They still don't have many kids.
Plenty of countries do those things, Quebec is a great example. Universal healthcare, subsidized daycare, baby bonus payments. They still don't have many kids.
If I don't particularly feel the biological urge to have children (aka drive to spread my genes), I might feel differently if I had more faith that my country's society and culture were worth contributing back to.
I don't feel that way about this country (America).
That said, I tend to think social/cultural incentives are more than just social programs and government spending. Right now, I feel like I live in a culture that I don't have an affinity for. It's an awful lot like workplace culture – you can't manufacture it entirely by implementing programs or throwing money at people. Those things help, but only if there's a foundation of good culture to back them up. It has to be earned, cultivated, and grown.
In a fairy-tale version of America where I wasn't jaded and grumpy, who's to say I wouldn't want a big family?
>Pandas and white rhinos aren’t the only creatures that are unsuccessful at mating in captivity.
The pithy lede to the article says it better than I can.