merelygifted:

 

…The rising cost of living plays a big part in people deciding whether to have children, and if so how many. Economic shocks, such as the financial crisis of 2008, are another factor. But the reaction of the government to rising living costs – especially housing, childcare and, more recently, social care – plays a bigger part.

 

This is why the welfare cuts waved through by chancellor Philip Hammond last week were not just another hit to the incomes of the disabled, shocking though that is. They undermined the confidence of middle- and low-income families, most of whom are supported by the state in some way, in the affordability of having children.  …

 

…  Japan’s prime minister has spoken of his concern about a falling birth rate made worse by recent figures showing that large numbers of Japanese young people are not even having sex, let alone having children. Again, there has been some limited action, but not nearly enough for women to stop thinking that having a family will bring financial penury, a juddering halt to their career, or both.

 

In Britain, as elsewhere, one of the emerging barriers is an ageing population that needs extra care. If parents are left to look after the old as well as the young, it is clear they will seek to limit their responsibilities to both. The old, of course, have only themselves to blame. They voted in their hordes for Tory administrations to maintain austerity, and then wonder why social care means virtually no care at all.  …