A 2021 study by the Census revealed that childless adults age 55 and older had a median net worth of $153,900 compared to $130,400 for biological parents.
It's crazy how many people have kids because they view them as an eventual resource.
Like, they want the return on investment for bringing a life into this world.
Completely ignoring how much kids cost. Throw that shit in a 401k and you'll be able to retire early, enjoy yourself, and pay for elder care yourself when it's necessary.
Like, if it's just a random explanation they came up with to explain why they have kids it's one thing, but anyone that seriously believes this would be a good plan...
Back in the day you got a pension from your company job...
And because the focus was on long term health of the company and not just a quarterly increase in profit, companies were around for generations.
Now giant corporations have bought them, destroyed pensions or even just "closed" the company and sold all the equipment and real estate to another that wasn't obligated to pay the pensions....
After the depression, FDR tried to set up Social Security as a "national pension" along with universal healthcare.
Moderate Dems (Dems co trolled all branches back then) stopped it, saying they needed more research before I plementing.
80 years later and the Dem president is still saying it...
401ks are the best available option. That doesn't mean they're better than what we used to have or we shouldn't demand more.
There won't be anyone to care for the elderly or work normal, service, or public service jobs. The economy will crash, and life will feel like a dystopia.
This isn't a hypothetical. There's been a lot of events that cause a sharp population decline. And everytime, the working class make out like bandits because their labor value skyrockets.
The wealthiest lose money, but I'm cool with that.
Maybe if we're lucky the next couple generations won't fuck it up again.
The next generation benefits if there isn't a lot of them.
The parents of the next generation are still raising them, which sucks right now and is expensive.
But expecting them to pay for you in your old age is pretty much the worst reason to have kids, and those people probably aren't going to have kids that want to be involved for very long.
And for some of us, we don't just care about our own offspring, we care about all humans.
And the next generation is going to be a lot better off if overpopulation stops being such a huge problem.
But you keep jumping between defenses for it. It makes it look like your just saying whatever best defends having children.
Having kids only so that they'll take care of you when you're old is one of the worst reasons to have kids I've ever heard. A child who is only wanted because they can do something on your behalf in the future is not a child who will be loved. What child deserves that?
My guy, I'd literally rather kill myself when I can't take care of myself anymore than create a whole entire human being that I don't want for the sole purpose of having a nursemaid when I'm old. That's like, the worst possible reason to have a kid. Not to mention that there are tons of reasons a kid might not be able/willing to take on that role, so plenty of people are going to end up totally boned if that's their plan anyway.
So you just accidentally admitted that your children were a purely selfish act. Checks out, honestly. The people who would actually be good parents often don't want to be. The ones who are hot garbage as parents don't care, are dumb and overconfident, and have many kids. Dunning Kruger effect applies here to a sickening degree.
I'm not sure if you've picked up on the pattern, but it won't end well for anyone either way. People are getting poorer and less secure just plain matter of fact. Retirement age is coming later and later. Healthcare becoming less and less accessible. Late life benefits are at the whim of a bunch of geriatrics in DC who persistently vote to reduce, delay, or completely remove things previous generations enjoyed.
The outcome isn't changing no matter the path anyone of us takes. So you may as well keep kids out of that inevitably.