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.
If having kids causes you to be poorer what would the results look like?
The reality is that the more kids you have the worse you are at capitalism: You can't work as much, you can't take on more demanding jobs and you'll make life choices that are less lucrative to care for the kids.
Yeah but you also don't get trashed at the bars every weekend and you live longer healthier life. It isn't as clear cut as you are making it. I agree being a dad has hurt parts of my career but it has probably helped other parts.
Can only speak for myself, but thankfully I have no interest in more demanding, lucrative jobs to improve my stats in such a rigged and inherently evil game as modern capitalism.
Doing just well enough with a loving family sounds well-lived to me. They can keep their McMansions and rooftop wine tastings.
The source you linked tells that more developed countries have less kids, which is almost unrelated to how "affordable" having a child is, which infact have the opposite trend.
Thanks much better, however "Correlation does not imply causation" which is obvious in this case (and as the source itself say, the correlation is probably about education instead etc). The problem is much more complex and trying to explain it with a simple correlation is a bit naive, however you can't deny how much of an economic struggle raising a kid is for the average income family....
I never claimed having kids wasn't a financial endeavor. I'm just pointing out that people with more income have on average less kids... because they do. I didn't suppose the cause of this correlation at any point. But yes, I'd agree education is a huge part of the cause of this correlation.