People aren’t healthy. My grandparents lived to be very old. Didn’t go to the doctor. My mother lived to 88 while smoking since she was 12, ate very poorly. I’m 79 and very healthy, drivie a school bus in foot of Ozarks, walk better and healthier than many younger people.
One of the issues raised here that I don't think gets talked about enough, is how all of these factors affect the human heart, and how instead we are treated like robots. Good interview.
29 year old childless woman here, I am married to a man with two of his own sons. I have thought about having a child with him of my own, but the thought is absolutely crippling. We can not afford housing or anything due to child support already, how on earth do I afford to have a child of my own? Everything is so expensive, we can't even begin to think about being able to survive with another mouth to feed..and I'm running out of time.
The real estate argument is baffling. There are so many young people DESPERATE to buy their own home but can't afford it. If the housing prices fall to the level where all those young people can afford it, there won't be any excess housing.
If there was any discussion of the mainstream media’s role in producing fear and nihilism in our society, I missed it. The media has played a starring role, and people too often overlook its culpability.
Even in the 70's the prospect of higher education was crowded with candidates for the same job. So much so many of us Boomers sought alternative routes, filling opportunities our BAs and BSes minimally qualified us, but where there were fewer people skilled in those allied fields. People began to realize a Masters or PHD in Aeronautic Engineering meant being over qualified for any job. Employers wanted to groom their candidates to their ways with internal training, so they could pay them less as an undergrad. By the 80's a higher degree meant you filled an administrative role rather than the very thing one became educated for doing, and wanted to pursue. If one didn't enter such admin role, the employer, and I mean any employer, simply wouldn't hire you FOR ANYTHING. One couldn't even work in a mail room. At least that was my experience. So the market was very tight through those years for high education slots within a company. Many went to work for the government as the expansion of bureaus needed very skilled people. So the whole system of advancement by educational attainment was a fairy tale for all but the highest GPAs. People like Steve Jobs, dropped out and started their own businesses. That gave many people hope through the 90's with Silicon Valley scooping up the brightest of those who could learn their way through computers and networking at a visceral level. The same for the pharmaceutical industry. The rest of us ended up in the service industry, the largest employer out there at widely varying capacities and potentials for advancement. This last recession taught workers that no job was secure, as massive layoffs and downsizing harshly taught. People became disaffected about their employers, hopping from one job to the next to seek the highest pay or benefits without any loyalty at all to any employer. So really the problem of education and lack of excitement in the workforce was the result of unsolved problems in the workplace being kicked down the stairs from one decade to the next. The folks down at the bottom of the payscale just got the worst of all these poor decisions by employers who no longer cared if the employer succeed or not.
Great and enlightening interview. Millennials watched their parents-who worked their whole life and the entire family made sacrifices for-lose everything during the financial downturn. This is not just in the US but also in many other countries. In China, they have a 12/6 workweek and they have one of the largest populations of homeless people! Additionally, they watched their sandwich generation parents struggle under the weight of supporting aging parents, grandparents and also their children with “someday we will be happy if we just work hard enough” dangling carrot that never came. Millennials are not dumb, they know things have not changed and they don’t wish to suffer the same fate as their parents nor put their kids through what they, themselves, went through. The view of paying off costly education and obtaining solid financial footing prior to having children has been an on-going topic in many of my conversations with people of that generation and, the resounding answer is they have learned from the past that it’s better to pay off school, create solidity and time for their kids prior to having them. I find this responsible and if we can’t support these thoughts or affordable housing, they aren’t going to bring children into an unstable environment. Also, lets face it, they also know people who target kids (1 in 3 girls are targeted sometime in their life) are not prosecuted or obtain light sentencing and the school system is failing. This is really not a population problem, it’s a foundational problem and the first step to solving that is to understand you are not going to get them to lose their heart, nor their personal morals for a failed system with a lack of transparency or hope.
The population is slowly dropping due to more women not wanting kids, the younger generation avoids having kids , more men avoid marriage or kids thanks to bias family courts, housing is super expensive, minimum wage is too low, people are unhappy and the government is not helping out with higher taxes and no housing reforms to help the middle class and the poor. Homelessness is on the rise, depression, ...etc. People even prefer death these days as suicide rises.
Peter Robinson is 1000 times more intelligent that I am but he asks questions and then repackages it so I can understand. He’s so amazing at what he does.
Women no longer have a choice, we have to work now because families can’t afford to live on a single income, not even for the basic necessities of life. This means that families are making the choice to have fewer children as the stress involved with 2 working parents bringing up a family is really hard both for the children and for the parents.
The real problem no matter what country you live in you never really can own your own land and our countries government owe so much money to their own citizens and have inflated the economy to the point that no one can afford rent to " own" land by government tax standards
My father worked like a dog, being an immigrant and having all his education not being credited. My mother tried to stay home, but was forced into the workforce. We had a home but not food in the cupboards and parents absent. Being the eldest, I took care of my brother and sister. No interest in repeating that, I struggle as a single female to keep a roof over my head, and if I take on anyone else, my roof gets more expensive. What's the point?
What a wonderful surprise! Dr. Eberstadt I just read for a 2nd time your important book "Men Withoit Work", and have preordered the new version coming out this month. Thank you so much for the work you do! Peter, your interviews are always the best!
Thank you for sharing those insight . I think most people are aware of the population and birthrate declines. The reasons why are interesting and maybe obvious. The 40years of bad government and the society build on fears are interesting points. They are both connected and the zero risk and 100% safe (unachievable) narratives and policies are chased so hard in all aspects of life (in the work-flour, business to private life and entertainment) It only breeds more insecurity and is a negative feedback loop for society. Witch influences the other topics talked about like mental health and starting up a company / business idea or taking the risk off having children. Theirs also the economic and socially ‘accepted’ aspect that people in the west take into account that play a role. Coming from a moral point, before having children. For example the need for decent family housing, funds,(for) education, etc. to give your children a competing chance in life. While you can have 2+ children in a small 1 bedroom apartment and rely on public and social services or insentives to take care of things. This is not what most people,parents choose and they want as much control over it ass possible themselves. Wether this is just a luxury, first world living standard requirement problem, or not I don’t know. But, it is something that is in rapid decline and a harder 'required standard' to achieve for newer generations. While some can rely on previous generations wealth if they are lucky, most can not .
This was a fantastic deeply considered discussion of topics that MANY of us are seriously contemplating. I think my biggest concern of those mentioned in the interview is the profoundly divergent attitudes of today's "Under 30s". And it's like to propose that w things must change in our public schools. First, we've raised an entire generation of Americans to be AFRAID of
The man's words are well placed, and he is well-thought in my opinion. All of what he said struck a chord with me. With that said, it is very depressing... and it is so much easier to keep my head in the sand.
There are many unfilled job positions because the baby boomers are retiring in record numbers. Many of those close to retirement retired early during covid.
Kids are expensive. People can barely afford to take care of themselves, having kids put a lot of people into poverty or keeps them there. Many I have spoken to have said they don’t want to bring a child into this crazy world.
Ehrlich was right with his prediction of depopulation coming by the 1980s, but he didn't expect the Dollar to be decoupled from gold in 1971 and a monetary system coupled with young Baby Boomers entering the workforce has created a wealth cycle and loop of expansive forces that reinforced thenselves ..but now boomers are retired, the credit cycle is maxed out and EROI on oil is much lower now than in 1971...
We have become a society that has lost its identity. We have leadership across multiple arenas who believe the world would be better off with even less Americanism. Academics Politicians and Media are in a catastrophic downward spiral causing mass depression among the general populace. I work in Healthcare every weekend we see an onslaught of Overdoses and to drunk to function and the chronic health issues because of alcohol and drug use. We must begin to accentuate the a positive.
I recognized it 15 years ago working as a nurse midwife. Now we are seeing enrollment in the Vaccines For Children program decline across the board. Even African birth rate stats have dropped. I'm sure there are various reasons for that depending on where you live in the world, but the outcome remains the same.
The cost of housing is the key issue - people just cannot afford the space for another child - 70% of house prices is speculative, financial air. And young people are terrified of climate change.
Nicholas Eberstadt, thanks for your contribution! So much about what you are saying is happening exactly the same way here in New Zealand. We have the same problem with our Maori population, they have to a large part disengaged, or that is how it seems to me to be! I'll possibly get caned for saying what I have. Once again thank you!
What a thoughtful and insightful conversation. My brain is exploding with questions for the speaker who is obviously a bipartisan expert. Thank you for this talk.
Well to me the biggest source of angst is a simple life experience: my first job was in video games. Company 70-80 people, like 80% men, which reflects the target audience almost 1:1. Long hours, tough market, deadlines. I made a poll of "martial status". There were 3 non-broken marriages, two of founders (who set their hours themselves) and one pair working desk to desk. Almost *everybody else* was divorced men. Guess how many of them got any of the kids living with them? 0%. And *all* have to pay child support to their ex-wives, to see their kid like 1 or 2 days a week. Like what a madman would I have to be, to make the same mistake man *like me* have made, hoping for a different outcome? It was clear - if I stay in the industry, I am either childless or divorced. So I left the industry, but numbers are not very much better outside. I am yet to see a single lady paying child support to a man. Talking about "gender gap", right? I am quite sure, that if the game was symmetrically rigged in the opposite direction, result would be the same: the loosing side would just refuse to play.
"For some reason." My experience out of high-school. I could choose a car, a cheap apartment, or college. But only one. It's not rocket science. I have no fucking future.
Well look at the conditions in which we are having children today, their school gets more quality time with your children than you do, so are you still a parent or merely a guardian.. collectively how many hours a day do you spend investing in your children with a house full of internet devices 2 hours tops if you add up the moments of contact.. are we really being effective parents these day's.. i doubt it. Parents live busy lives as do children and between all this the only question being asked in most cases is does the devices my children have access to have parental controls im place to ensure their not exposed to the adult nature of the internet.. its a sad truth most are to busy to even be aware of.
America is suffering from "Idiocracy", remember Miss Teen South Carolina 2007. One of most indicative moments in American history, but it has gotten much worse over the past 14 years.
I'm 35 and finally my 77-year-old my father and my business Was finally starting to actually make some good money you're just making enough to get by and do okay for a long time finally doing well and making more than we ever had and had more work than we knew what to do with for about 2 or 3 years and seemingly overnight 💣💥crash😖 straight into the ground!! Then somehow fell through the floor and it just keeps going!! So now still more work than we can do but not making any money! Lost the place I was living can't find anywhere that I can afford unless I have a girlfriend or a couple of roommates or something which I don't! So I started to live in my van until I could find somewhere I thought it would be about a week or two then 3 months later got an accident and the van was totaled so no longer had a place to stay! Ended up staying in our 18-wheeler trailer container that we rent for storage that has no access to electricity or water! So unable to replace the work truck cutting my ability to work down drastically making it so it's nearly impossible now to find a place that's affordable! Oh AND I guess there's something severely wrong because my legs and feet are still blowing up all sorts of swollen and now my sides hurt every once in awhile I guess kidneys who knows! Certainly not me no way I can afford any type of healthcare! So trying to find a place to stay is seemingly impossible Especially since they want what $3,000 to 4,000 just to step in the door of a one-bedroom or Studio hole in the wall and it was in the center of Camden New Jersey almost directly under the Ben Franklin Bridge unfortunately even that 10x15-ft room with a shower and three or four foot long counter that they put two gas burners in as a stove with a mini fridge underneath of it! But oh yeah after telling the guy I wanted it came back literally hours later and it was already taken! Can't find a girl if my life depended on it because they're either already taken or completely and totally unacceptable because there's no way I am going to start any type of relationship with a girl who is woke for just dumb as a box of rocks most of which I already have two or three kids! From the type of person who likes relationships so I'm not going to start seeing someone unless I can be in a relationship with them because that never ends up well! You end up stuck in a relationship one way or another with someone who is just completely incompatible and then you screwed! Last girl friend I had was my high school girlfriend that I was with for like I don't know 7 years or so and she came home one day and just said don't think it's going to work then I found out a few years ago she died from an OD! Then you throw on top of my mother just died unexpectedly and just before that my brother died at age 45 like 3 days before his birthday with his sleep apnea I'm asking his hand still running! I remember it was still laying on the floor running when we went to collectors belongings days later! Man did I have a weird dream last night saw his face for the first time since holy crap it's been since 2015! Anyway then we got everywhere we look just crap! The country is going to crap the jobs are crap, the people are crap for the most part, the country was burned down for like a year straight and now continues to look like it's going to go straight into an authoritarian shithole and not one person I know of would even think about trying to do something to make a change! Couldn't get people to go out and voice their opinions when they were locked in their houses and had nothing else to do in the lockdowns let alone get them to take off a day's work yet the left shows up in Mass after to send out a tweet or two and no matter if they agree with it or care about whatever it is they stay there and do whatever it takes not leaving until they got what they think they wanted! Everyone else is called Nazi bigot terrorists and will be thrown in solitary lockup for years before they even get a trial if they sneeze the wrong way with literally a handful of politicians who actually try to do something in care the rest of which are constantly curled up in the fetal position in the corner rocking back and forth begging the left not to call them mean names or acting like they're doing something but in reality the left complete their agendas! I'd love to have kids and a family and a job that I would actually happy and want to get out of bed to go do! No way I'm going to have kids when I'm not sure which one of could happen tomorrow... Civil War, nuclear war / ww3, the completion of the great reset / authoritarian takeover, you have no work or lose the roof over your head! I remember when I was growing up and wasn't worried about any of that knew that I'd be able to take care of myself because things were good and as long as you went out to work you'd be all good! Holy crap things have changed!
They want women to have children, raise children and go to work. No ones paying them for this hard job so I guess many just dont bother. Raising children is hard work. Unpaid work. Educated women have less kids and more job prospects. Some have male wives that do the chores and raise the kids.
People have fewer or no children because they cant afford them. Women want fewer or no children because they have to work full time and rhey are exhausted.
When my wife and I were having children, we practiced what we had been led to believe. That belief was that the world was overpopulated and we should not be selfish and have to many children. As a result we chose to only have two children. Our society pushes this belief today as well. Now that I am older and wiser I realize this narrative is not accurate on its face.
Children will soon only be realistic for the rich and wealthy. The economy and the climate change doesn't seem hopeful. So some of us do not want kids. It's harder to be able to take care of ourselves.
The classroom is the problem, the only thing that has not changed is the classroom structure everything else around it has but the same old 30 kids in a class is the standard, get them up teach them to survive in today's world and tell them to create things and you will find those that will excel
Look at death rates and life expectancy by generation, and you'll find that those born after 1957 are much worse off. That's because the generations that preceded them have left them worse off in other ways, from family life to the economy to public policy. It has gotten worse by generation. So the Millennials aren't having children. That has been true in some other countries too.
I don't see it a question of over or under population, its a question of the quality of population. Bring a child in this world who you teach to be God conscious/philosopher and he/she will be an asset to the planet. bring a child and feed them crappy values, you are doing a disservice to humanity.
Before 1970 children began to contribute to family productivity at an early age and continued throughout their lifetimes. Educational expense, healthcare expense have made children unprofitable. By the time they are educated enough to be employable they are deep in debt and unable to even meet their current expenses, much less contribute to the family wealth. And because the family economy is failing, the children flee and start their own, (failing), family economy. The healthcare and educational costs of children must be reduced and children's efforts must be valued and allowed to earn revenue for the family. The American culture will have to shift to valuing the generational family structure. No debt, living within their means and building generational family wealth has to become socially prized and a target for families.
Do you really need a 50 year research to tell the reasons for depopulation? The family of this researcher consists of 4 offsprings. It wouldn’t be possible if he and his wife wouldn’t be high earners. As for Israel,if the US government supported its own citizens the same way,most probably average family would have 3 children .
I'm 30 and all i do is work and I'm broke. Every woman I talk to is busy working and being broke. This late stage capitalistic society is taking everything from us so much that we can't hardly sleep let alone settle down enough to have children.
People aren’t healthy. My grandparents lived to be very old. Didn’t go to the doctor. My mother lived to 88 while smoking since she was 12, ate very poorly. I’m 79 and very healthy, drivie a school bus in foot of Ozarks, walk better and healthier than many younger people.
One of the issues raised here that I don't think gets talked about enough, is how all of these factors affect the human heart, and how instead we are treated like robots. Good interview.
Having children is an act of hope. America's hyperpartisan fear-mongering has denied our younger generations hope.
Do you think maybe, possibly, the transition from a rural to an urban society might have something to do with the birth rate?
Let me say this, Peter is a consistently wonderful interviewer. I get more out of these podcasts than any other. Cheers.
29 year old childless woman here, I am married to a man with two of his own sons. I have thought about having a child with him of my own, but the thought is absolutely crippling. We can not afford housing or anything due to child support already, how on earth do I afford to have a child of my own?
Everything is so expensive, we can't even begin to think about being able to survive with another mouth to feed..and I'm running out of time.
The real estate argument is baffling. There are so many young people DESPERATE to buy their own home but can't afford it. If the housing prices fall to the level where all those young people can afford it, there won't be any excess housing.
If there was any discussion of the mainstream media’s role in producing fear and nihilism in our society, I missed it. The media has played a starring role, and people too often overlook its culpability.
Add the 40% increase death rate to working age population- as reported by insurance companies in 2022
Even in the 70's the prospect of higher education was crowded with candidates for the same job. So much so many of us Boomers sought alternative routes, filling opportunities our BAs and BSes minimally qualified us, but where there were fewer people skilled in those allied fields. People began to realize a Masters or PHD in Aeronautic Engineering meant being over qualified for any job. Employers wanted to groom their candidates to their ways with internal training, so they could pay them less as an undergrad. By the 80's a higher degree meant you filled an administrative role rather than the very thing one became educated for doing, and wanted to pursue. If one didn't enter such admin role, the employer, and I mean any employer, simply wouldn't hire you FOR ANYTHING. One couldn't even work in a mail room. At least that was my experience. So the market was very tight through those years for high education slots within a company. Many went to work for the government as the expansion of bureaus needed very skilled people. So the whole system of advancement by educational attainment was a fairy tale for all but the highest GPAs. People like Steve Jobs, dropped out and started their own businesses. That gave many people hope through the 90's with Silicon Valley scooping up the brightest of those who could learn their way through computers and networking at a visceral level. The same for the pharmaceutical industry. The rest of us ended up in the service industry, the largest employer out there at widely varying capacities and potentials for advancement. This last recession taught workers that no job was secure, as massive layoffs and downsizing harshly taught. People became disaffected about their employers, hopping from one job to the next to seek the highest pay or benefits without any loyalty at all to any employer. So really the problem of education and lack of excitement in the workforce was the result of unsolved problems in the workplace being kicked down the stairs from one decade to the next. The folks down at the bottom of the payscale just got the worst of all these poor decisions by employers who no longer cared if the employer succeed or not.
In my experience, there's a dynamic change in worldview when one starts raising kids.
Great and enlightening interview. Millennials watched their parents-who worked their whole life and the entire family made sacrifices for-lose everything during the financial downturn. This is not just in the US but also in many other countries. In China, they have a 12/6 workweek and they have one of the largest populations of homeless people! Additionally, they watched their sandwich generation parents struggle under the weight of supporting aging parents, grandparents and also their children with “someday we will be happy if we just work hard enough” dangling carrot that never came. Millennials are not dumb, they know things have not changed and they don’t wish to suffer the same fate as their parents nor put their kids through what they, themselves, went through. The view of paying off costly education and obtaining solid financial footing prior to having children has been an on-going topic in many of my conversations with people of that generation and, the resounding answer is they have learned from the past that it’s better to pay off school, create solidity and time for their kids prior to having them. I find this responsible and if we can’t support these thoughts or affordable housing, they aren’t going to bring children into an unstable environment. Also, lets face it, they also know people who target kids (1 in 3 girls are targeted sometime in their life) are not prosecuted or obtain light sentencing and the school system is failing. This is really not a population problem, it’s a foundational problem and the first step to solving that is to understand you are not going to get them to lose their heart, nor their personal morals for a failed system with a lack of transparency or hope.
The population is slowly dropping due to more women not wanting kids, the younger generation avoids having kids , more men avoid marriage or kids thanks to bias family courts, housing is super expensive, minimum wage is too low, people are unhappy and the government is not helping out with higher taxes and no housing reforms to help the middle class and the poor. Homelessness is on the rise, depression, ...etc. People even prefer death these days as suicide rises.
People don’t earn enough to even take care of themselves, is it any wonder were not having kids?
Most telling point..."poisoning of the education institution".
Peter Robinson is 1000 times more intelligent that I am but he asks questions and then repackages it so I can understand. He’s so amazing at what he does.
Women no longer have a choice, we have to work now because families can’t afford to live on a single income, not even for the basic necessities of life. This means that families are making the choice to have fewer children as the stress involved with 2 working parents bringing up a family is really hard both for the children and for the parents.
The real problem no matter what country you live in you never really can own your own land and our countries government owe so much money to their own citizens and have inflated the economy to the point that no one can afford rent to " own" land by government tax standards
His comment about Fear is spot on. Absolutely the living theme of Gen Z, etc.
My father worked like a dog, being an immigrant and having all his education not being credited. My mother tried to stay home, but was forced into the workforce. We had a home but not food in the cupboards and parents absent. Being the eldest, I took care of my brother and sister. No interest in repeating that, I struggle as a single female to keep a roof over my head, and if I take on anyone else, my roof gets more expensive. What's the point?
What a wonderful surprise! Dr. Eberstadt I just read for a 2nd time your important book "Men Withoit Work", and have preordered the new version coming out this month. Thank you so much for the work you do! Peter, your interviews are always the best!
I would never bring a child into this world since waking up to the sheer evil we are ruled by
Incredible interview. We have a tremendous amount of changes that need to be made.
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so how come nobody in our government is doing anything about this? why are they almost intentionally making it worse?
Thank you for sharing those insight . I think most people are aware of the population and birthrate declines. The reasons why are interesting and maybe obvious. The 40years of bad government and the society build on fears are interesting points.
They are both connected and the zero risk and 100% safe (unachievable) narratives and policies are chased so hard in all aspects of life (in the work-flour, business to private life and entertainment) It only breeds more insecurity and is a negative feedback loop for society. Witch influences the other topics talked about like mental health and starting up a company / business idea or taking the risk off having children.
Theirs also the economic and socially ‘accepted’ aspect that people in the west take into account that play a role. Coming from a moral point, before having children. For example the need for decent family housing, funds,(for) education, etc. to give your children a competing chance in life.
While you can have 2+ children in a small 1 bedroom apartment and rely on public and social services or insentives to take care of things. This is not what most people,parents choose and they want as much control over it ass possible themselves. Wether this is just a luxury, first world living standard requirement problem, or not I don’t know. But, it is something that is in rapid decline and a harder 'required standard' to achieve for newer generations. While some can rely on previous generations wealth if they are lucky, most can not .
This was a fantastic deeply considered discussion of topics that MANY of us are seriously contemplating. I think my biggest concern of those mentioned in the interview is the profoundly divergent attitudes of today's "Under 30s". And it's like to propose that w things must change in our public schools. First, we've raised an entire generation of Americans to be AFRAID of
The man's words are well placed, and he is well-thought in my opinion. All of what he said struck a chord with me. With that said, it is very depressing... and it is so much easier to keep my head in the sand.
There are many unfilled job positions because the baby boomers are retiring in record numbers. Many of those close to retirement retired early during covid.
What about the exponential increase in population in the previous centuries? An exponential curve can't last forever, can it?
One way to make children more desirable is to give parents more say on how their child should be educated.
I really enjoy listening to intelligent people speak - on anything; it's so refreshing.
Look at a chart of inflation since 1970 with a chart of wage growth overlaid and it becomes very clear.
50 year carpenter I say no 3 bedroom 2 bath home I’ve built is worth more than 120,000 the lenders are greedy
Great thought provoking presentation as usual.
Excellent interview and a breath of factual honesty and fresh air in these very troubling times
Great interview. I can tell you right from personal experience the immigration system is a nightmare.
Kids are expensive. People can barely afford to take care of themselves, having kids put a lot of people into poverty or keeps them there. Many I have spoken to have said they don’t want to bring a child into this crazy world.
Great guest and great interview by Peter. Keep it up. Look forward to these interviews as fascinating sources of inspiration.
I've tried unsuccessfully to have children for 7 years. Sometimes it's not even a decision to have fewer/no kids, it's inevitable.
Ehrlich was right with his prediction of depopulation coming by the 1980s, but he didn't expect the Dollar to be decoupled from gold in 1971 and a monetary system coupled with young Baby Boomers entering the workforce has created a wealth cycle and loop of expansive forces that reinforced thenselves ..but now boomers are retired, the credit cycle is maxed out and EROI on oil is much lower now than in 1971...
Always a good day when there’s a new upload from Hoover. Hope we will see more with Peter Thiel soon!
We have become a society that has lost its identity. We have leadership across multiple arenas who believe the world would be better off with even less Americanism. Academics Politicians and Media are in a catastrophic downward spiral causing mass depression among the general populace. I work in Healthcare every weekend we see an onslaught of Overdoses and to drunk to function and the chronic health issues because of alcohol and drug use. We must begin to accentuate the a positive.
I recognized it 15 years ago working as a nurse midwife. Now we are seeing enrollment in the Vaccines For Children program decline across the board. Even African birth rate stats have dropped. I'm sure there are various reasons for that depending on where you live in the world, but the outcome remains the same.
The worse the opportunity, the less people want to procreate as they feel pessimistic for the future
The cost of housing is the key issue - people just cannot afford the space for another child - 70% of house prices is speculative, financial air. And young people are terrified of climate change.
Nicholas Eberstadt, thanks for your contribution! So much about what you are saying is happening exactly the same way here in New Zealand. We have the same problem with our Maori population, they have to a large part disengaged, or that is how it seems to me to be! I'll possibly get caned for saying what I have. Once again thank you!
What a thoughtful and insightful conversation. My brain is exploding with questions for the speaker who is obviously a bipartisan expert. Thank you for this talk.
Life is tough. I do not want my kids to go through what I went through. My unborn kids aren't missing much
Excellent interview! Thank you both.
Great interview as usual! Thanks to Peter and Nick!
Most honest evaluation of the current humN condition I've heard. Thank you for giving me something worth passing along.
What a beautiful conversation. Thank you so much. Weird how history repeats itself. Encore.
Great discussion gents! Thank you for your work.
Always brings me some joy watching these shows.
How is it, I've never heard of this guest before? Can't wait to get this book.
Well to me the biggest source of angst is a simple life experience: my first job was in video games. Company 70-80 people, like 80% men, which reflects the target audience almost 1:1. Long hours, tough market, deadlines. I made a poll of "martial status". There were 3 non-broken marriages, two of founders (who set their hours themselves) and one pair working desk to desk. Almost *everybody else* was divorced men. Guess how many of them got any of the kids living with them? 0%. And *all* have to pay child support to their ex-wives, to see their kid like 1 or 2 days a week.
Like what a madman would I have to be, to make the same mistake man *like me* have made, hoping for a different outcome? It was clear - if I stay in the industry, I am either childless or divorced. So I left the industry, but numbers are not very much better outside.
I am yet to see a single lady paying child support to a man. Talking about "gender gap", right?
I am quite sure, that if the game was symmetrically rigged in the opposite direction, result would be the same: the loosing side would just refuse to play.
32 minutes. Employers begging for workers. Err, not at the pay levels required to make work pay. Especially the UK.
Awesome interview!
Thanks for sharing this
Could it be at all possible people aren’t reporting to the census? I can’t be the only one lol.
"For some reason." My experience out of high-school. I could choose a car, a cheap apartment, or college. But only one. It's not rocket science. I have no fucking future.
Well look at the conditions in which we are having children today, their school gets more quality time with your children than you do, so are you still a parent or merely a guardian.. collectively how many hours a day do you spend investing in your children with a house full of internet devices 2 hours tops if you add up the moments of contact.. are we really being effective parents these day's.. i doubt it. Parents live busy lives as do children and between all this the only question being asked in most cases is does the devices my children have access to have parental controls im place to ensure their not exposed to the adult nature of the internet.. its a sad truth most are to busy to even be aware of.
Scary information, but thanks for the exposure.
America is suffering from "Idiocracy", remember Miss Teen South Carolina 2007. One of most indicative moments in American history, but it has gotten much worse over the past 14 years.
The population bomb topic had gained popularity again and was recently touted by Bill Maher. Very important to talk about it.
Excellent!! Thank you both!
What a wonder to hear clarity, Nicholas Eberstadt is just wonderful, thank you! I will read his literature!
Great program and production quality. Will captions be added soon?
Made it so damn expensive to live, two household incomes is the only way to survive.
We need the population to shrink to make room for robots duh.
I am 68 have never had a vacation and still working and broke
Thanks for this great conversation!
GenX children of poor Boomers heard for our life what a burden we were.
I've been waiting to see if they where going to talk about the college problem we face.
I'm 35 and finally my 77-year-old my father and my business Was finally starting to actually make some good money you're just making enough to get by and do okay for a long time finally doing well and making more than we ever had and had more work than we knew what to do with for about 2 or 3 years and seemingly overnight 💣💥crash😖 straight into the ground!! Then somehow fell through the floor and it just keeps going!! So now still more work than we can do but not making any money! Lost the place I was living can't find anywhere that I can afford unless I have a girlfriend or a couple of roommates or something which I don't! So I started to live in my van until I could find somewhere I thought it would be about a week or two then 3 months later got an accident and the van was totaled so no longer had a place to stay! Ended up staying in our 18-wheeler trailer container that we rent for storage that has no access to electricity or water! So unable to replace the work truck cutting my ability to work down drastically making it so it's nearly impossible now to find a place that's affordable! Oh AND I guess there's something severely wrong because my legs and feet are still blowing up all sorts of swollen and now my sides hurt every once in awhile I guess kidneys who knows! Certainly not me no way I can afford any type of healthcare! So trying to find a place to stay is seemingly impossible Especially since they want what $3,000 to 4,000 just to step in the door of a one-bedroom or Studio hole in the wall and it was in the center of Camden New Jersey almost directly under the Ben Franklin Bridge unfortunately even that 10x15-ft room with a shower and three or four foot long counter that they put two gas burners in as a stove with a mini fridge underneath of it! But oh yeah after telling the guy I wanted it came back literally hours later and it was already taken! Can't find a girl if my life depended on it because they're either already taken or completely and totally unacceptable because there's no way I am going to start any type of relationship with a girl who is woke for just dumb as a box of rocks most of which I already have two or three kids! From the type of person who likes relationships so I'm not going to start seeing someone unless I can be in a relationship with them because that never ends up well! You end up stuck in a relationship one way or another with someone who is just completely incompatible and then you screwed! Last girl friend I had was my high school girlfriend that I was with for like I don't know 7 years or so and she came home one day and just said don't think it's going to work then I found out a few years ago she died from an OD! Then you throw on top of my mother just died unexpectedly and just before that my brother died at age 45 like 3 days before his birthday with his sleep apnea I'm asking his hand still running! I remember it was still laying on the floor running when we went to collectors belongings days later! Man did I have a weird dream last night saw his face for the first time since holy crap it's been since 2015! Anyway then we got everywhere we look just crap! The country is going to crap the jobs are crap, the people are crap for the most part, the country was burned down for like a year straight and now continues to look like it's going to go straight into an authoritarian shithole and not one person I know of would even think about trying to do something to make a change! Couldn't get people to go out and voice their opinions when they were locked in their houses and had nothing else to do in the lockdowns let alone get them to take off a day's work yet the left shows up in Mass after to send out a tweet or two and no matter if they agree with it or care about whatever it is they stay there and do whatever it takes not leaving until they got what they think they wanted! Everyone else is called Nazi bigot terrorists and will be thrown in solitary lockup for years before they even get a trial if they sneeze the wrong way with literally a handful of politicians who actually try to do something in care the rest of which are constantly curled up in the fetal position in the corner rocking back and forth begging the left not to call them mean names or acting like they're doing something but in reality the left complete their agendas! I'd love to have kids and a family and a job that I would actually happy and want to get out of bed to go do! No way I'm going to have kids when I'm not sure which one of could happen tomorrow... Civil War, nuclear war / ww3, the completion of the great reset / authoritarian takeover, you have no work or lose the roof over your head! I remember when I was growing up and wasn't worried about any of that knew that I'd be able to take care of myself because things were good and as long as you went out to work you'd be all good! Holy crap things have changed!
They want women to have children, raise children and go to work. No ones paying them for this hard job so I guess many just dont bother. Raising children is hard work. Unpaid work. Educated women have less kids and more job prospects. Some have male wives that do the chores and raise the kids.
LOVE YOUR CHANNEL. ONE OF THE BEST.
Thank you for your work!
Thanks for the interview 🙂
People have fewer or no children because they cant afford them. Women want fewer or no children because they have to work full time and rhey are exhausted.
When my wife and I were having children, we practiced what we had been led to believe. That belief was that the world was overpopulated and we should not be selfish and have to many children. As a result we chose to only have two children. Our society pushes this belief today as well. Now that I am older and wiser I realize this narrative is not accurate on its face.
These interviews are top shelf
From the title I thought you were talking about the vaccine, lol..
great interview!
Children will soon only be realistic for the rich and wealthy. The economy and the climate change doesn't seem hopeful. So some of us do not want kids. It's harder to be able to take care of ourselves.
The classroom is the problem, the only thing that has not changed is the classroom structure everything else around it has but the same old 30 kids in a class is the standard, get them up teach them to survive in today's world and tell them to create things and you will find those that will excel
Look at death rates and life expectancy by generation, and you'll find that those born after 1957 are much worse off. That's because the generations that preceded them have left them worse off in other ways, from family life to the economy to public policy. It has gotten worse by generation. So the Millennials aren't having children. That has been true in some other countries too.
Its a spiritual problem.
Get ready for the worst depression ever.
I don't see it a question of over or under population, its a question of the quality of population. Bring a child in this world who you teach to be God conscious/philosopher and he/she will be an asset to the planet. bring a child and feed them crappy values, you are doing a disservice to humanity.
Before 1970 children began to contribute to family productivity at an early age and continued throughout their lifetimes. Educational expense, healthcare expense have made children unprofitable. By the time they are educated enough to be employable they are deep in debt and unable to even meet their current expenses, much less contribute to the family wealth. And because the family economy is failing, the children flee and start their own, (failing), family economy.
The healthcare and educational costs of children must be reduced and children's efforts must be valued and allowed to earn revenue for the family. The American culture will have to shift to valuing the generational family structure. No debt, living within their means and building generational family wealth has to become socially prized and a target for families.
Are we in a technocratic depression?
The Swiss and European nations have brought in tax free incentives for their citizens if they have children. The United States should do the same!
To anyone listening, make yourself capable of moving, now is your chance.
Hallarious the world just hit 8 billion ppl that economists say we can't feed more then ten billion people. So
Do you really need a 50 year research to tell the reasons for depopulation? The family of this researcher consists of 4 offsprings.
It wouldn’t be possible if he and his wife wouldn’t be high earners. As for Israel,if the US government supported its own citizens the same way,most probably average family would have 3 children .
Everything is made oversea so what do they expect….
I'm 30 and all i do is work and I'm broke. Every woman I talk to is busy working and being broke. This late stage capitalistic society is taking everything from us so much that we can't hardly sleep let alone settle down enough to have children.
"micro-optimism" Thanks for that term.
I don't think numbers growing like a cancer is a great basis for an economy. Maybe we should change our model.