195 - America's Childless Future Part 2 - The Price of Children
Having a child in America is the most expensive it’s ever been, historically, and state populations are shrinking for the first time. So why can’t we fix this?
Last week we talked about the elderly Americans who are quietly grieving a future without grandchildren. This week, we flip the lens and look at the cost, in dollars and cents, of becoming a parent for younger Americans. Because it turns out that raising kids isn’t just an emotional decision anymore—it’s a financial cliff. The ruling political party claims the ideal household is one two loving, working parents, an owned home, and grandparents who can help take care of the children…which, it turns out, is a shockingly low percent of us, far, far below replacement rates necessary to survive as a country.
This episode is all about the cold, hard census data surrounding the plummeting U.S. birthrate, and the hidden math behind America’s looming population crisis. What does it really cost to raise a child from birth to adulthood in 2025? Why are Millennials and Gen Z increasingly deciding that having kids is financially impossible? What kind of income would you need to afford even a single child without falling into poverty? (Spoiler: It’s a lot more than you’d think.)
We’ll also talk about the politicians on both sides who are offering unsustainable solutions: like praying that grandma can babysit eight hours a day indefinitely, or throwing money at the corporations driving up the cost of children in the first place. Then we’ll we shine a light on the one U.S. state that’s getting it right; the New Mexico childcare program, which is being funded through state land grants, and is already bringing up birthrates for their state.
Links:
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-cost-of-raising-a-child-by-u-s-state/
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/16/kamala-harris-child-tax-credit.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/12/jd-vance-trump-raise-child-tax-credit.html