this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2025
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[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 11 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I find it funny to watch these countries having issues with people not wanting to have babies.

There are core reasons behind this, one large one being "raising a child is expensive and all the world's money is being sucked up by billionaires, there is nothing left for children". Another one (for certain countries like Japan and South Korea) is the "work 80 hours a week and never see that family you're supposed to raise"

And governments go like "sooooo, if we cover child birth, you're good, right? What? Still nothing? We tried nothing and we're all out of ideas, how oh how can we solve this?"

Fuck the rich, end the rich. That will get births back to a healthy 2.1

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 4 points 18 hours ago

officials have already expanded maternity leave benefits and housing subsidies to encourage couples to have more children.

Seems like they’re trying multiple things. Meanwhile we’re over here trying to say middle school kids can be paid less than minimum wage, operate dangerous machinery and work late on school nights. If you can’t afford kids, might as well exploit them

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 3 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

And then they help pay the roughly $15,000 usd per yr per child it costs to raise a child right?

Becauae it would be really bad if China helped pay for a ton of kids to be born that can't be provided for.

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 2 points 16 hours ago

Kids can pull themselves up by the bootstraps... factories are hiring...

/s

[–] PumpkinDrama@reddthat.com 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

This seems like overcompensating for the child limit. Are they going to be like a yoyo, swinging from one extreme to the other until they find a balance, like all things should be?

[–] Triasha@lemmy.world 4 points 21 hours ago

No country has increased birth rates sustainably without major coersion. China is still using soft coercion and offering incentives.

[–] tym@lemmy.world 1 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

the ROI is they get future foot soldiers

[–] veni_vedi_veni@lemmy.world 1 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

They already have a glut of military aged males with no marriage prospects, if they were serious about invading Taiwan, they could only do it now (also aligns with the fact that America has become more isolationist, Japan hasn't a serious standing army yet etc.)

If they are planning for the future, it's not military, it's societal.

[–] Railcar8095@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago

It's great, but I had kind of assumed it was already in place.

[–] Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world 74 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Desperation?

People don't want to have kids. I wonder why. Remember the laying flat movement and the 996 culture.

I wonder why.

If only there was an actual solution to this LOLOL....

[–] Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 37 points 2 days ago (20 children)

If I lived under an authoritarian regime, I would not want to bring a child into it.

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

lived under an authoritarian regime

I mean... isn't that just most of history tbh?

Most people aren't antinatalists lol

[–] UltraMagnus@startrek.website 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I'd quibble that the average medieval peasant faced a lot less surveillance than the average citizen of any country today (Though perhaps that's just a change in methods).

But you are right - and, in fact, I think it's the case that countries/people in worse circumstances tend to have more kids (probably some weird evolutionary thing but I don't want to speculate). As tough as times may seem in "developed" countries, most people don't need to worry about where their next meal is coming from.

(This isn't to say that circumstances are "fine" or that we shouldn't improve things - simply pointing out some biological factors). It's also worth noting that folks in worse economic circumstances tend to having a higher number of people in their "support network" (friends and family - ie, 3 generations living under one roof). Though perhaps this is not the case in the US since it's culturally looked down upon to rely on family like that.

It's an interesting phenomenon that can't be boiled down to 1 or 2 simple factors like government type. Maybe this was too much text and I should've just said "I agree with you DeathByBigSad"

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 1 points 19 hours ago

having a higher number of people in their “support network” (friends and family - ie, 3 generations living under one roof).

Fun fact: My mom told me that, supposedly, if it weren't for the fact that my maternal grandmother (aka: her mother) agree to help take care of me, she would've never given birth to me, as she already has the trouble of dealing with my older brother. My parents were kinda busy with work.

(I'm from China btw... Currently residing in the US)

I also remember sometimes my older brother was just tasked with the "chore" of having to pick me up. I remember once my mom's close friend picked me up from school at the same time as she picked up her kid, I kinda just spent like an hour at their house being bored... not much entertainment... smartphones didn't exist at the time (not that I would've been allowed to have one anyways, I was like maybe 10 or something).

And as for finacial support. My mom borrowed a lot of money from relatives and friends... so yeah... that how she managed to buy a house (she eventually paid them back).

[–] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 63 points 2 days ago (7 children)

The truth is that the strength of a democracy has little relation to the birth rate. If you live in the US, for example, you only live in a democracy if your income is in the top 10%. This has actually been studied. The opinions of the poorest 90% of the population have absolutely zero bearing on what government policy is implemented.

The US and China actually have similar levels of democracy. China forms all its policies from the CCP, an organization of about 100 million people. The share of the population in China that has any impact on policy is actually quite similar to the share that does the same in the US.

[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

It’s true. The very poor people I’ve known in the US have believed that “the system is rigged” and they have little freedom and no voice. They believe they are exploited by powers far beyond their ability to challenge and the last way any of it would ever change is through voting, which they see as an empty, farcical gesture.

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[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 15 points 1 day ago

I live in a democracy and don't want to bring children into this.

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[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 41 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Good. Can’t wait to beat this drum to hopefully shame the less than useless US congress to do ANYTHING.

[–] VitoRobles@lemmy.today 39 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I mean, shaming America's greatness against other countries has worked in the past. That's how we got:

  • Universal healthcare
  • Mandated paid maternity/parental leave
  • More than two dominant political parties
  • Cheaper or free college education
  • High-speed passenger rail
  • Mandated annual paid vacation time

Oh wait.

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