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As incomes decline relative to costs it makes sense for more people to stay home as the income is a wash compared to the cost savings of having a body at home full time to run the home.

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It doesn't make sense if you need both incomes to survive. It just pushes the total fertility rate down faster when prospective parents realize they cannot afford childcare nor one parent to remain at home.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-income-a-family-...

https://illumine.app/blog/how-much-childcare-costs-by-state-...

https://childcaredeserts.org/

You can't "reduce the fertility rate" out of a kid you've already popped out. It's not households with people who can only provide value by working within their specialty that are electing to do this. It's households where the parent staying at home can provide value to the home beyond just babysitting the kids who are the first ones electing to do this.

If everyone does it the costs will decline.

Costs will not decline. I’m willing to bet on it.

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