As the U.S. birth rate keeps dropping remaining steady at its lowest birth rate since its beginning, the question of why and how this is happening appears. Well, the answer is tragic but very simple: More than half of 18 to 34-year-old adults throughout the U.S. refuse to have kids because of the financial struggle they face today and the belief that they simply can’t afford to have kids.
Of the young people not having children, 35 percent of them are university educated and 33 percent are earning more than 2000$ a week. Barely under half of them don’t even own homes as prices surged about 19% since 2019. The reason is that many people of these age groups believe the economy is in shambles right now while inflation levels are decreasing highlighting that prices of commodities are still unaffordable for many. 29-year-old famous tiktoker Charles Fitzgerald states on August 15 “With the cost of groceries, the cost and availability of baby formula, the cost of diapers, the cost of childcare, and the cost of giving birth in the United States. Statistically speaking, when you’re born poor in this country, you’re probably gonna die poor, and your kids will be in the same boat too.” This is a belief appraised by many on the platform. What Charles was stating is a phenomenon named the poverty trap or cycle of poverty. Charles pointed out that the current poverty trap is caused by the cycle of debt from people trying to escape their poverty with education but getting subdued to hiring rates for jobs being lower than the mid-2000s averages.
Having a child in the U.S right now is not cheap by any means actually, with Business Insider citing that the cost to raise a child in 2024 is at least 25,714$ on average(up 42% since 2016) while the average annual household salary is about 59,548$. Paid maternity leave is also not an option for many citizens as there is no federal paid maternity leave with many not being able to afford unpaid leave even if offered in America. This makes it hard for a majority of millennials and Gen-Z to have kids as a 2024 survey also shows that nearly 78% of Americans are currently living from paycheck to paycheck without kids. Kos Samaras, director of Red Bridge, states “For previous generations, it took until their 30s to obtain financial security, and for Generation Z and millennials, it’ll take well into their 40s. Young people aren’t being dramatic by not starting families because, financially, it could cripple them.
Model Ellie Gonsalves says “Many people are finding it very challenging to prepare for their own future while also trying to provide a stable and prosperous environment for a child.”
She continues “How is the government helping provide an environment where people can comfortably do that given the current economic challenges? Until there is a more supportive environment, including affordable housing and better economic stability, it’s understandable why many people are hesitant on the task of raising children.”
A looming insecurity is mounting to a form of performance anxiety in the face of intense expectations while there is minimal support from the current government is what many millennials and Gen Z today believe causing them to either not have kids or wait till later in life when they are in a position where they have full confidence in their economic stability to have kids.
Written by Aniruddh Sajan
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