Like almost all developed nations, America’s fertility rate has gone below “replacement” which is 2.1 births/woman (and NO, it’s not “birthing people” or “people who give birth” or “people with uteruses”). Lots of theories have been put forward with one example being all of the manmade chemicals interfering with hormonal processes. Another is that as education rises, family formation goes down yielding “later-age marriages”.
This factor, Land Use Regulations, was one that I never would have thought of:
We’ve mentioned the “birth dearth” here before, but here’s an interesting take on the effect of land use regulation that tends to drive up housing costs, and therefore slows family formation:
That Index can be found here and here). Cato has another one here. Boiled down? More GOVERNMENT regulations increases land and housing costs.
And look at the positioning of NH (lower right end of that sloping line). We ARE an aging State and that would have in “spiraling” effect on the birth rate and that should be considered a factor as our younger adults go elsewhere (and presumably have their babies elsewhere as well).
Adding to the cost of having babies, which I’ve mentioned before, has been “safety activists” forcing child seats into cars and for longer periods of time (increasing size and weight measures before they are not needed – I know this right now!). And then you have even MORE Government regulations dealing with the safety of vehicles (raising their costs) and then making them more “energy efficient” – mostly making them smaller.
Go ahead – try putting three child seats into a sub- or compact car. And the MPH Karens wonder why families have increasingly moved to bigger SUVs and pickups (hint more room!). For instance, Ford (in judging this movement) only has one “sedan” in its lineup (the Mustang which is a sports coupe rather than a 4-door family sedan) – SUVs, cross-overs, trucks, and vans make up the rest.
Left hand, right hand – and the Government is concerned with the falling fertility rates? It ought to be looking at itself in a mirror (somehow)…
(H/T: Powerline)
