They are literally missing millions of males across multiple generations because the population (of males) never recovered from the losses of the world wars (and the subsequent generational alcoholism used to cope). It's insane that they will keep sending men to war, and then complain that there aren't enough kids. Pick one.
They aren't worried about declining population. Or family values. They desperately need more and more soldiers. And they need women for these soliders to abuse and when they are not soildering.
Here's a thought, if the Russian government is so fucking worried about declining population, maybe they should consider not throwing their young people into war for no fucking reason.
Yeah, maybe don't send your young population off to die...
But maintaining the population is important if we are to let people retire in old age and get healthcare or even just live. Without enough working people and with too many old people the system can collapse and elderly poverty might become widespread
I vehemently disagree that the needs of the elderly or anyone else justify increasing the fertility/birth rate because stating otherwise is tacitly agreeing with the misogynist sexist argument that women are defined by motherhood, are obligated to give birth and therefore do not deserve bodily autonomy or the freedom to live their life as they choose.
Those same women will be elderly one day, too. And they're the ones in danger, not the current elderly population. A low fertility rate is a ticking timebomb unless working age immigrants come in to produce the goods and services necessary to keep society running. We can acknowledge this problem while not forcing women to give birth.
Well, maybe the powers that be can make parenthood more feasible and not make life a very unpleasant obstacle course. Otherwise, they can stfu.
Yeah, but such policies only have a limited effect unfortunately. No country has successfully achieved replacement level fertility
At least in the US, this is all about the Baby Boomers. They still hold so many positions of power so of course they're pushing this population collapse narrative. They need young bodies to fight their wars and wipe their asses. Once we get past the Baby Boomers then this problem will decrease substantially, if not disappear entirely. The solution is not to forcibly breed another over-sized generation to take care of them. That just kicks the can down the road and we never actually solve the problem.
And honestly, forcing women to have babies they don't want right now actually exacerbates the problem. Who do they think is mostly taking care of the elderly now, either for free as family or as paid caretakers?
And honestly, forcing women to have babies they don't want right now actually exacerbates the problem. Who do they think is mostly taking care of the elderly now, either for free as family or as paid caretakers?
I’m so sorry I can’t stop picturing this…
Woman: I need an abortion but live in a state where it’s illegal
Conservative Boomers: Don’t get pregnant 🤷♂️
But then…
Conservative Boomers: wipe my ass, I’m too old to do it myself
Women: Don’t get old 🤷🏽♀️
But honestly I was a paid caregiver when I was about 17/18, and all I can say is the elderly of today DEFINITELY should not have ANY expectations when it comes to how they’ll be taken care of when they no longer can care for themselves.
I think another issue is that Boomers are one of the first generations to live far longer and more comfortable lives than their parents. When social security was started, most people were lucky if they lived past 70. Now people routinely live into their 80s because diseases that were a death sentence just 50 years ago can be managed.
We also have the issue of bad economic policies & the expectation to get a pricey college degree destroying the ability of millennials to be upwardly mobile. A few generations ago, a person could get a decent job out of high school and be able to live a middle class life on one income. That is no longer possible for most people. And why the fuck would anyone want kids when they & their partner are both working long hours and can barely afford a one bedroom apartment in a shit neighborhood?
That's the situation I'm in now. I really wanted at least 2 kids. But the housing market has squeezed us out. And I don't want to have a second when I'm still living in a crackerbox apartment
This is a weird take that doesn't apply to most countries. My country does not have oversized generations and if the fertility rate does not rise, the health care system will collapse and the economic consequences will be pretty serious.
And people can talk about immigration all they want, but if my country, and many others in Europe, were to start allowing mass immigration from developing nations (the ones with actual overpopulation), far right parties would see a massive rise in support. The momentum they gained during the 2015 refugee crisis was already insane and my country specifically did not even take in that many people. You can see this effect (rise in support for far-right parties who have either already introduced, or promise to introduce if elected, tight restrictions on refugees and immigrants) in countries such as Denmark and France already even though both nations face huge problems because of low fertility rates.
And this shouldn't have to be said but obviously I don't support forcing women to have children, I'm just saying that low fertility rates are a problem for many countries.
Once we get past the Baby Boomers then this problem will decrease substantially, if not disappear entirely.
How? The fertility rates are below replacement. When the generation that is currently in their 30s and 40s gets old there won't be enough people of working age to pay for their pensions/social security, healthcare and just general consumption. Also, this is a problem for every country with low fertility rates, including Russia, not sure why you're talking about the US only.
And honestly, forcing women to have babies they don't want
Obviously we shouldn't do that and that's against women's rights. And the dictator's "measures" won't help Russia either. Doesn't mean it's not a problem worth solving. Wealthy countries could solve it temporarily with immigration - this way you could always have a fresh influx of working age people to work and pay taxes. But this won't work for countries like Russia because who wants to move to Russia? And it's not like immigrants will be welcome either
Here's a thought, if the Russian government is so fucking worried about declining population, maybe they should consider not throwing their young people into war for no fucking reason.
And I'm really fucking tired of hearing about the population collapse. It's bullshit. This is women gaining control of their own lives and fertility and correcting the over-population caused by men's inability to keep their dicks in their pants and their complete lack of concern for the health and well-being of the mothers of their children.