Countries around the world are worried about their future as birth rates continue to fall, and in the United States, the conversation has reached the White House. President Donald Trump has sparked a national debate over how to address America’s so-called baby bust.
“One of our biggest concerns is that we’re going to see a cultural mass extinction,” said Simone Collins, a pro-family activist and co-founder of pronatalist.org, a group promoting policies to make it easier for Americans to start and grow families.
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“It’s not like we really need to force people into having kids. In fact, we think that’s a really bad idea,” she said. “We only want wanted children in this world. But right now, we do things to actively make it harder to be a parent, even if you want to be.”
CDC data show the number of babies born in the U.S. hit a 45-year low in 2023, with only a few states at or above replacement level. Experts warn that it could spell long-term economic and social consequences.
“One in four young adults are projected to never become moms or dads,” said Dr. Brad Wilcox of the University of Virginia. “And I think that’s just a great tragedy because for most of us, nothing lends our lives more meaning and purpose, absent of faith, than the opportunity of being both a spouse and a parent.”
/**/“People have had, since the 1960s, this misguided worry about overpopulation,” added Dr. Melissa Kearney of the University of Maryland.
Economists warn that declining birth rates mean fewer workers, lower tax revenue, and an aging population with fewer younger people to support them.
“If you haven’t invested in friendship and family, you’re going to be in a bad spot in the last chapter of your life,” Wilcox said.
Prominent voices like Elon Musk are also sounding the alarm.
Musk has said, “The birthrate is low in almost every country, and unless that changes, civilization will disappear.”
The White House is now exploring ways to encourage Americans to have more children. “We will support baby bonuses for a new baby boom. How does that sound?” Trump said to cheers at CPAC.
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Among the proposals under consideration are a $5,000 payment to new mothers, a $1,000 tax-free investment account for each newborn, Fulbright scholarships for married or parenting applicants, and federal funding for fertility awareness education.
“This movement tends to transcend so many different groups,” said Emma Waters of the Heritage Foundation. “It incorporates your Silicon Valley tech brothers, so many religious conservatives, but also ties into a sort of crunch con liberal or even libertarian who’s really interested in these holistic root cause approaches to fertility and overall vitality.”
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