It was notable as I looked through various "Village life" type videos on Youtube that rural areas are aging. It is difficult to find videos of young families working in agriculture. Nepal may be an exception.
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| Picture by Steven Hanks |
Young people move to cities. Young people are the ones who make the babies.
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| At least two more children off-screen. One is an infant and other is an older daughter "watching" the infant. Carpathian mountains, planting potatoes. |
The four steps to "crashing" the population is to first introduce the young woman to refrigeration so she does not need to go shopping every day.
The second step is to provide contraception services/sterilization.
The third step is to provide her with a TV or smartphone so she become envious and to desire "things".
The last step is to get the young women deeply into debt so they have no choice but to go to work. "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go". They are trapped economically. They cannot afford daycare. They cannot afford to lose the paycheck.
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| Another painting by Hanks |
There is a lot to chew on. Women captured the education industry with most guidance counselors expected to have advanced degrees. Many teachers chose career over kids. It is human nature to present our own, personal choices as optimal and other choices as "inferior". Kids are impressionable.
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| Half of the US population lives in the red counties |
Then, cities were the logical place to put factories because that is where the labor was and where non-native resources funneled through.
In the post-industrial age, are there any compelling geographical reasons for Detroit existing at its current location? How much economic support does a tunnel and a bridge to Canada provide? Detroit is a legacy city that COULD support 40k people (about the size of Jackson, Michigan) based on the current economy as it interacts with geography.
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| Turkey. Cultivating sweet potatoes. The youngest "kid" is at least 40. |
You make a good point about the 'how did we get here'. There is a huge push for 'shiny things' over 'items of value' everywhere today. Not to be lost is the push of feminism that tells women they don't need a man...
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, I hear a lot of those complaints from youngins, who are driving $40k cars that are only 3 years old... Once in my life I bought a car that was younger than that (took 18 mos to save for the down payment), and I drove it for the next 12 years until the tranny went. You don't see that today.
My Son's friend has a serious GF since HS - graduated 2 years ago, she's looking for a ring, he says he doesn't have the cash. He's got a $42k truck loan he's underwater in, but no money for a ring.
Skip the engagement rings. A couple of simple, sterling silver wedding bands cost less than $60 at Walmart.
DeleteWalmart? Pah. My beloved took a silversmithing course and made her own.
DeleteOnly gonna get worse, Most western countries went in whole hog on the COVID vax, so expect birth rates to drop even lower..............................................
ReplyDeleteWho's having the kids these days is the question to ask when you wonder about the world in 50 years.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see those counties highlighted in either blue, red, or purple, reflecting their political demographics. It would also be interesting to see a heat map of the USA showing birth rate.
ReplyDeleteYou get more of what you incentivize. I think we should be incentivizing the organic growth of the US population, instead of relying on imports.
The highlighted counties/ cities are almost entirely Democrat strongholds.
DeleteOther countries are incentivising having kids with very little success; I see no reason those incentives would work better in the US.
Almost all population growth in the US is among Conservatives; that's why Democrats have pushed for illegal immigration - otherwise they'll lose votes and seats in the House. We know that they crave power above all.
It's expected that the 2030 census will transfer 12 seats to Republicans unless there is massive fraud.
Jonathan
It is not just in the countryside. A great many city school districts are closing and/or combining schools because student populations are dropping. It is especially noticeable in "close in" neighborhoods which once upon a time were city cores but have become areas of gentrification (with no attendant children).
ReplyDelete