Yet another government worries about birth rates and seeks to encourage people to breed. Maybe they should consider instead what kind of a world it is, that makes people not want to breed. It's getting harder to ignore that we're close to devastating climate change, the world is very overpopulated, and everyone knows that women still do the brunt of the child-rearing work and suffer career impact for breeding. I can't see why any sane person, especially a woman, would reproduce.

I don't know why governments can't just accept the fact that people are going to have fewer kids, and automation will replace many careers anyway, so that's no bad thing. They could start adjusting economic models to reality instead of the idea of perpetual growth, which was always a fantasy. And they could start addressing some of the problems that make people who would otherwise reproduce not want to. But no, it's always a short-sighted campaign to guilt or bribe people into breeding.

Quote

President Vladimir Putin has announced a series of plans to increase the number of children being born in Russia from an average birth rate of under 1.5 per woman to 1.7 within four years.

That's not how it works. That's not how any of this works. As long as women have the choice about bearing children or not, they will make their choices irrespective of what the government plans.

Quote

Last year he promised tax breaks for bigger families.

On Wednesday he told parliament "the birth rate is falling again" before pledging state funding for new mothers.

"Maternity capital" has until now only been paid to families with at least two children.

Welfare benefits will also be paid for children aged three to seven in low-income families, and free school meals will be provided for the first four years of school.

You know where you can get all that kind of stuff and more? Western Europe. You know where women aren't reproducing more? Also western Europe. Once women have other options, they tend to have no or fewer kids. The countries with the highest fertility rates are those where women have limited rights and education, and they don't need any bribes to do it. The higher the quality of life, the less appealing reproduction looks.

Quote

The payment is currently worth £5,800 ($7,600; €6,800), but Russian demographer Anatoly Vishnevsky believes extending it to all families will have little effect because the pattern of declining birth rates is the same in every industrialised country.

"President Putin's whole idea that the birth rate can be corrected solely by money is invalid," he argues.

Quote
yurble

Quote

The payment is currently worth £5,800 ($7,600; €6,800), but Russian demographer Anatoly Vishnevsky believes extending it to all families will have little effect because the pattern of declining birth rates is the same in every industrialised country.

"President Putin's whole idea that the birth rate can be corrected solely by money is invalid," he argues.

Putin treats his people like puppy mill dogs, and Trump wants to follow in his footsteps.

+++++++++++++

Passive Aggressive
Master Of Anti-brat
Excuses!

Wonder if Putin will try to go the way of Romania.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
"Not every ejaculation deserves a name" - George Carlin

Quote
LoveToLurk
Wonder if Putin will try to go the way of Romania.

I really hope not but I was thinking the same thing. Yikes.

Quote
freya

Quote
LoveToLurk
Wonder if Putin will try to go the way of Romania.

I really hope not but I was thinking the same thing. Yikes.

Yep, Putin is the type.

+++++++++++++

Passive Aggressive
Master Of Anti-brat
Excuses!