Amazing
Nah not really.
Particularly in the west you can track the change of morals and cultural norms towards having kids over the last 40 years, some changes like feminism are good, alternatively some like the decline of local and national identify are bad. Countries where is rate of replacementis above the line donât suffer these issue
Each generation has become more fatalistic along side a decline of national, local identity and community values.
Thatâs not to say housing and cost of living isnt an issue at all but countries that donât have these issues are facing a similar drop in fertility rates.
Go on then, whatâs the solution?
Doing your goddamned duty for the nations economy and its billionaire overlords who need the labour (but will automate it at first chance), peasant.
Ehhh. Every generation complains about the younger generation being shit. It goes way back:
âOur siresâ age was worse than our grandsiresâ. We, their sons, are more worthless than they; so in our turn we shall give the world a progeny yet more corrupt.â
Book III of Odes, Horace
circa 20 BC
If the goal is to increase the fertility rate, there are things you can do to address that. My focus is on creating an environment where couples who are inclined to have children or those who already do feel secure to have more. The ârewardâ for doing so is innate to the endeavour.
The pro growth/YIMBY agenda is critical to creating an environment where families can thrive. More housing, cheaper goods via free trade, and economic opportunity derived from capital investment are important elements for prospective and actual parents.
The fuck up thing is its actually the baby boomer generation that blocks a lot of the pro growth measures to the detriment of their own children, grandchildren etc. Thatâs a cultural issue right there.
Culturally, it is much harder to effect change. It has to be something that comes from the ground up rather than top down.
Itâs just a reality that there is a high % of capable adult couples not having children because they donât want to for whatever reason (Thatâs a different discussion as it is a cultural issue) and thatâs perfectly fine IMO, no one should have kids if they donât want to but itâs just a fact that places a greater focus those who already have some to have more, and that should be reflected in government policy like taxation.
There needs to be a national collective awakening about the importance of producing more British children, imbued with our values, from sturdy and robust functional families. You canât force that kind of awakening it has to happen organically and in a shocking manner.
There is power in people, especially people who believe what you do. The likes of Japan and ROK are a couple of decades ahead of the west in terms of the fertility crisis, which should be a warning for a lot of people right there but more importantly, the balance in the world is changing the likes of India, China and Nigeria are going to eat the westâs lunch within the next 70 years.
We didnât get to this point overnight and implementing the solutions wonât be a simple fix either.
I donât quite understand how cultural issues are a âdifferent issueâ when I asked you, in response you you posting about cultural issues, what your solution to these cultural issues is?
That said I do agree that one issue that needs to be addressed is that the boomer generation blocks, in more than one way, the progress and capacity to afford children.
Iâm also glad that you said nobody should feel forced to have children if they donât want them because that isnât the position of everyone who is concerned about birth rates.
You seemed to suggest tax breaks for bigger families. I think that would be a controversial suggestion to some. I can imagine the Mail and Express screaming the house down about tax breaks for poor families with lots of kids whilst middle class pensioners donât get a winter fuel allowance but Iâm not against it. Iâm not sure thatâs enough to address the kind of problem you suggest we have.
You seem to be talking in fairly oblique terms about âcultural issuesâ and Iâm not really sure what youâre saying is affecting the birth rate from a âculturalâ standpoint and therefore Iâm not really clear what you think should be tackled or how. What are our âcultural issues?â
You said you want more British children imbued with âour values.â But what are âour valuesâ exactly? In my job itâs always been essential to teach four core British values of Democracy, the Rule of Law, Individual Liberty and Mutual Respect and Tolerance both explicitly and implicitly. Thatâs been the case for my whole career so itâs clearly not getting the job done from your point of view. What changes would you make?
Sorry I meant to reply to this earlier.
Not sure how to respond because I think you misunderstood me? Because youâre not really disagreeing with me. I will try explain myself better.
When I mean theyâre the same thing (Money is the culture) I mean they merged and replaced values we used to have. Which decisions do you still see made either on a individual, local or national level with longstanding British traditions or values in mind? Do you think thereâs enough decisions still being made like that? (Loaded question you donât have to answer btw, just an overall point)
Itâs fitting weâre Arsenal fans because football one of the most significant British traditions really showcases well in priorities and how culture in British society has changed. When we were growing up. There was a negative association (Unless you were the benefitting from it) of being ran by a sugar daddy (Chelsea, early Man City). Indeed there was some negative association for spending a lot in general. There was still values in doing things the âright wayâ that overtime were abandoned. Remember some Arsenal fans willing to throw everything away for that chancer Usmanov? There was no actual need for these type of characters in the game. It sustained and grew and thrived without them yet we have supporters whom used to not want these types begging for these type of individuals.
Manchester United wouldâve been one of those fanbases that scorned at the idea back then, but roll to 2024 here they are begging a Saudi takeover to buy them out to âsaveâ them, Newcastle a historic club with a huge local community as well begging a takeover. Itâs not even dressed up either, they donât give a damn. This sort of attitude could be extended to the country as a whole. (See, two child benefit cap and the âpeople shouldnât have children they canât affordâ @Leper was saying).
Back to the topic this shift effects social decisions. Cost of living is everywhere. But the values in a country like say Jamaica (Sorry I can only use personal examples lol) havenât changed so itâs not as impactful on social decisions, affordability wouldnât factor in whether to have a kid like it would in the UK. Thus the culture is also supportive of it.
Money is imbedded of British culture, Iâm not really a fan of it (I suspect you arenât either) I think it sucks arse. But thatâs where weâre at. Thereâs no reason personally to separate whether itâs a culture problem or an affordability problem in the UK theyâve became the same thing. If the country is broke, everything tanks with it. In turn society adapted (and pressured) to make decisions with that in mind and so do British institutions, you could wake up tomorrow and your council could sell off a facility that provides value to the community for a quick buck and not be surprised and feel the long term social consequences of it later that nobody seemed interested in factoring in. (Slight rant about the Kent council trying to sell off our only youth centre, terrific idea lads)
I think a poor family should have as many kids as they want as a well off family does without being judged. But I donât think that is an agreeable statement for many. I donât know how you change the culture to reflect that sort of position.
Christ I donât do long posts.
Macron may be in trouble down the line. Shows the dangers of a high tax and high spend society
Well isnât this a lovely practice Iâm only just hearing about
https://x.com/lambrinimami/status/1848090575737917461?s=48&t=jGB9xVeZZgG8QMnSZzToFQ
Rent to rent has been a big driver of increasing rents in London. Itâs a disgusting practice that needs to be outlawed.
F7ck me housing in London is so cooked
This is already banned as its fraud, definitely a violation of two separate agreements and only occurs due to lazy and inept housing officers.
Imagine showing that off on social media to announce to everyone youâre a massive cunt.
Congrats to her
The degree to which some will clout chase even to their own detriment never ceases to amaze me, that shit is as addictive as any drug to too many
Pathetic
Hopefully will lead to prosecution for violating lease agreements etc.
Thatâs genuinely fucking disgusting. Iâm sure its happening here too and even if it isnât legal i bet officials trying to tackle it would end up hamstrung as the emergency housing departments would probably be fucked without it. In the short term at least.
There is zero political will to make meaningful change to housing policy and its pretty fucking depressing. Iâm just thankful itâs not a problem i face personally.
Awful, but also so easy to put a stop to!
Such a detailed video!
This shows how complex geo-politics is.
