[guest post by Dana]
For those who already have more than one child, I guess it’s time to pick and choose which one really *isn’t* your favorite. Sad!
Before pushing the Earth First zealotry, it would be good to take a moment to consider the economic and societal impact of declining birthrates:
With an aging population and shrinking pool of younger citizens, we would face increasingly intractable problems in providing for our elders. It’s not a terribly controversial notion to admit that younger, productive workers are needed to pay for the tax system that sustains our elders.
At best, Filipovic’s proposal would lead to massive tax hikes on workers and declining standards of care. This would inevitably reduce private sector investment and productivity, growing debt, and a restraining influence on the economy. Put simply, we would live less-wealthy, less-happy lives.
Consider Japan, where birthrates are plummeting:
Last year, the number of births in Japan dropped below one million for the first time, the ministry of health, labour and welfare said Friday.
The shrinking of the country’s population – deaths have outpaced births for several years – is already affecting the economy in areas including the job and housing markets, consumer spending and long-term investment plans at businesses.
For now, the Japanese economy is growing despite a dwindling number of workers and consumers. Growing global demand for Japanese products is one reason. But the real decline has barely begun.
After Japan’s population hit a peak of 128 million at the start of the current decade, it shrank by close to 1 million in the five years through 2015, according to census data. Demographers expect it to plunge by a third by 2060, to as few as 80 million people — a net loss of 1 million a year, on average.
This naturally followed by the inevitable vicious cycle:
Japan has entered a vicious cycle of low fertility and low spending that has led to trillions in lost GDP and a population decline of 1 million people, all within just the past five years…
Economists have a name for countries that contract because of these swirling forces: “demographic time bombs.” In these nations, falling spending shrinks the economy, which discourages families from having kids, which shrinks the economy further. Meanwhile, people are living longer than ever before.
“An aging population will mean higher costs for the government, a shortage of pension and social security-type funds, a shortage of people to care for the very aged, slow economic growth, and a shortage of young workers,” Brinton says.
Not to put too fine a point on it but Japan now sells more adult diapers than baby diapers.
(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)
–Dana