The countries that do pay for it don’t have significantly higher fertility rates.
I’d say there’s an elephant in the room: Childbirth sucks. If you want women to willingly subject themselves to that, you need either a culture that virtually requires it-
And I want to take a moment to emphasise that I don’t like nor want this solution, and would fight anyone who tries for it.
-or you need to pay them well above the actual economic cost of rearing a child, because the process itself is strongly negative. Yes, having a child itself can be great. Eventually, several years in, when they start to become a person.
That’s true, but if you ask any of the women I know, they’ll tell you they’re perfectly happy to keep it at one.
That’s in Norway, by the way, so not one of those countries where you get zero support.
There are no countries that come close to actually paying for it. There are countries that pay for 5% of it, and in those, indeed they don't have significantly higher fertility rates.
please point out the country which pays for adequate housing and other necessities for a family with 4 children, adequate childcare support (or pays one parent to stay at home fulltime), and sufficient guaranteed sick leave.
I’d say there’s an elephant in the room: Childbirth sucks. If you want women to willingly subject themselves to that, you need either a culture that virtually requires it-
And I want to take a moment to emphasise that I don’t like nor want this solution, and would fight anyone who tries for it.
-or you need to pay them well above the actual economic cost of rearing a child, because the process itself is strongly negative. Yes, having a child itself can be great. Eventually, several years in, when they start to become a person.
That’s true, but if you ask any of the women I know, they’ll tell you they’re perfectly happy to keep it at one.
That’s in Norway, by the way, so not one of those countries where you get zero support.