Commentary
Some years ago, when I was researching different social security systems, I stayed briefly with a German friend who had recently become a father. My friend told me of the time he and his wife were walking with their new baby when a stranger, seeing the infant in the stroller, thanked them for contributing to his retirement.
I was more used to people seeing children as a burden or an indulgence rather than a contribution. Yet, like all previous societies, we depend on the contribution parents make by having and raising children.
Even where children are wanted, they may be seen as an expensive consumer item. The median cost of raising a child from birth to age 18, as of 2020, was $233, 610. And that was before the current inflation. Children are an expense, as many young people see it, to be postponed if possible until the late 20s or longer. The limits on such delay are set mainly by the apprehension of the biological limits of a healthy pregnancy….