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Re:Korea shatters its own record for world’s lowest fertilit... by somenameforme on Thursday August 25, 2022 @01:01AM (#32589709)
I agree with you on the latter point, but I want to also point something out on the former. Many people who are of no "proper" means to do so continue to have children. And they make it work, even if it may be uncomfortable and require sacrifice. So the issue is not one of finances, but priorities. Winning an IPO lottery being the baseline where you feel comfortable for having children doesn't mean that such is the inherent baseline, but that you simply prioritize comfort and wealth over raising a family. And that is okay.

This nuance is important; it emphasizes the real issue is not economics, but culture! We've created a society that values the pursuit of wealth and comfort more than family, and it's likely this system is not sustainable. Not everybody can be wealthy, because wealth is relative and mediated by what exists. If 30% of people want something and there's only enough for 3%, then it doesn't matter what the relative wealth is among these people: 90% of people won't be able to "afford" it, and that will never change. A post-scarcity society will never exist alongside consumerism; we'll simply take what we can have for granted and lust over the new scarcities.

Re:Korea shatters its own record for world’s lowest fertilit... by girvo on Thursday August 25, 2022 @01:59AM (#32590080)
We shouldn’t ignore the trauma that those children often experience, though. My parents had me at 17 and 19 years old, and I had a rough, complicated upbringing that caused me lasting damage. Because of that, I personally don’t see myself as having children ever, and I’m lucky enough to have a partner that feels the same.
Re:Korea shatters its own record for world’s lowest fertilit... by StanislavPetrov on Thursday August 25, 2022 @01:45AM (#32589980)
>Many people who are of no "proper" means to do so continue to have children. And they make it work, even if it may be uncomfortable and require sacrifice.

Unfortunately many people who are not properly equipped to raise children (financially, temperamentally or otherwise) have lots of children and don't make it work. The result is a permanent underclass and a serious crime problem in many of our major cities.

Re:Korea shatters its own record for world’s lowest fertilit... by DharmaPolice on Thursday August 25, 2022 @02:09AM (#32590169)
I think we can find some middle ground between "I won't have kids until I can afford to send them to Harvard" and "I'll have 7 kids while being addicted to drugs and having no family to support me".
Re:Korea shatters its own record for world’s lowest fertilit... by kupopuffs on Thursday August 25, 2022 @03:02AM (#32590507)
Agreed. And unfortunately it's the dwindling middle class
Re:Korea shatters its own record for world’s lowest fertilit... by jxramos on Thursday August 25, 2022 @08:49PM (#32601985)
I think a lot of that underclass is artificially propped up too, sort of along the lines of thinking you hear with open immigration vs generous welfare state pick one.