←back to thread

The giant basket case countries

(www.noahpinion.blog)
30 points paulpauper | 3 comments | 01 Nov 25 17:24 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
pstuart ◴[01 Nov 25 17:59 UTC] No.45783804[source]▶
Needing immigration to make up for plummeting birth rates in the US will be a challenge in the current political climate.

Having kids is expensive and for many people of reproductive age there's the additional concern of bringing a child into a world in crisis. I believe that all these problems are technically solvable but are not politically palatable.

The simplest thing that we could do would be to subsidize childcare so that the biggest economic hurdle would be addressed. But again, that would be dismissed as socialism and would be a non-starter today.

replies(4): >>45783929 #>>45783934 #>>45784052 #>>45784518 #
1. xnx ◴[01 Nov 25 18:16 UTC] No.45783934[source]▶
> The simplest thing that we could do would be to subsidize childcare so that the biggest economic hurdle would be addressed.

This seems logical, but to my knowledge there are no successful examples of pro-natalist policies (nordic countries, russia, south korea, etc.).

replies(2): >>45784034 #>>45784344 #
2. pstuart ◴[01 Nov 25 18:26 UTC] No.45784034[source]▶
Per another comment: https://blog.dol.gov/2024/11/19/new-data-childcare-costs-rem...

Obviously looking for existing patterns of success to validate assumptions is a reasonable ask, but it doesn't mean we couldn't forge new ones with proper diligence.

It would be expensive but an investment in the people that would pay huge dividends. Safeguards from fraud and abuse would be required but these are technical problems and are solvable. The only hurdle is consensus.

3. bediger4000 ◴[01 Nov 25 19:02 UTC] No.45784344[source]▶
Some communities in Japan have had success: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45726896

They implemented similar policies to those you quoted above.