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Fertility Shock

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  • 12-03-2019 12:14am
    #1
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭


    Watching this on RTE it talks about the declining birth rate and then talks about the high cost of childcare as a problem and goes on about how the Nordic countries do it so much better. Its true they do it better BUT their birth rates are among the lowest in the world - predictably not mentioned in the documentary of course.

    So nice as it is, it isn't the solution to plummeting birth rates.

    What do the good people of Boards think the solution is? Or should we go extinct?


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    #2
    Calhoun
    Registered Users Posts: 7,447 ✭✭✭Calhoun


    Reducing the amount of people on the planet might not be the worst thing.


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    #3
    work
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭work


    What are you talking about, is it s programme? "Watching this it......"? I do not understand, Please explain.


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    #4
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    Calhoun wrote: »
    Reducing the amount of people on the planet might not be the worst thing.

    We are already well on the way to doing that. Problem is we are going to have a huge amount of old people and very few young people supporting them.


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    #5
    mawk
    Registered Users Posts: 2,738 ✭✭✭mawk


    I don't think we should go extinct, but breeding ourselves down a few billion people doesn't seem like a bad idea to me


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    #6
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    work wrote: »
    What are you talking about, is it s programme? "Watching this it......"? I do not understand, Please explain.

    On RTE 1 tonight


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    #7
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    mawk wrote: »
    I don't think we should go extinct, but breeding ourselves down a few billion people doesn't seem like a bad idea to me

    I agree but a collapse of the birth rate isn't the most stable way to do it.


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    #8
    Purple Mountain
    Registered Users Posts: 13,023 ✭✭✭✭Purple Mountain


    professore wrote: »
    We are already well on the way to doing that. Problem is we are going to have a huge amount of old people and very few young people supporting them.

    Mandatory euthanasia is the only answer.

    To thine own self be true



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    #9
    Hobosan
    Registered Users Posts: 582 ✭✭✭Hobosan


    We should all stop having children. Then we will realise we have no reason to maintain anything we have and may as well throw the biggest going away party the Universe has ever seen. A great time will be had by all, and many will inevitably end up getting pregnant.

    Rinse and repeat.


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    #10
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    Purple Mountain wrote: »
    Mandatory euthanasia is the only answer.

    All joking aside, a gradual reduction would be good to allow tbe big cohort of old people to die off.


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    #11
    mawk
    Registered Users Posts: 2,738 ✭✭✭mawk


    professore wrote: »
    I agree but a collapse of the birth rate isn't the most stable way to do it.

    I think having a lower birth rate is an ideal route to having fewer people in future generations


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    #12
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    mawk wrote: »
    I think having a lower birth rate is an ideal route to having fewer people in future generations

    Yes but the rate of decline is important.


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    #13
    One eyed Jack
    Registered Users Posts: 23,680 ✭✭✭✭One eyed Jack


    professore wrote: »
    Watching this on RTE it talks about the declining birth rate and then talks about the high cost of childcare as a problem and goes on about how the Nordic countries do it so much better. Its true they do it better BUT their birth rates are among the lowest in the world - predictably not mentioned in the documentary of course.

    So nice as it is, it isn't the solution to plummeting birth rates.

    What do the good people of Boards think the solution is? Or should we go extinct?


    The solution to a plummeting birth rate is obviously to encourage people to have more children, by the State introducing incentives for them to do so.

    Currently, that’s just not happening at the level it needs to happen, as more and more people are simply more interested in supporting their own lifestyles as opposed to imagining they have any obligation to the State to have more children.


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    #14
    rgodard80a
    Registered Users Posts: 568 ✭✭✭rgodard80a


    China had the one child policy, but has relaxed it a little because of age demographics. Too many old people to support the country.

    Unfortunately the scumbag element of this country breed like rats, outbreeding decent people. Maybe we should have a licence/exam to breed.


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    #15
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    The whole thing with freezing eggs is just weird. It also only has a 5% success rate.


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    #16
    mad muffin
    Registered Users Posts: 8,034 ✭✭✭mad muffin


    The documentary Idiocy talked about it 10 years ago.


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    #17
    Demonique
    Registered Users Posts: 2,818 ✭✭✭Demonique


    professore wrote: »
    We are already well on the way to doing that. Problem is we are going to have a huge amount of old people and very few young people supporting them.

    The world population is increasing not decreasing


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    #18
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    One eyed Jack wrote: »
    The solution to a plummeting birth rate is obviously to encourage people to have more children, by the State introducing incentives for them to do so.

    Currently, that’s just not happening at the level it needs to happen, as more and more people are simply more interested in supporting their own lifestyles as opposed to imagining they have any obligation to the State to have more children.

    Not sure if it would make a lot of difference. Lots of thirty somethings enjoy life too much to have kids.


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    #19
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    Demonique wrote: »
    The world population is increasing not decreasing

    It's now mainly increasing because people are living longer rather than more babies being born like in the past.


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    #20
    cnocbui
    Registered Users Posts: 19,750 ✭✭✭✭cnocbui


    I think the western fertility 'problem' will in time, prove to be just as serious as the problem of the world soon running out of food, which was the big worry back in the 70's.


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    #21
    rgodard80a
    Registered Users Posts: 568 ✭✭✭rgodard80a


    Hobosan wrote: »
    No need for that, with current advances in genetics, parents will be able to identify and abort the dullards. As in Iceland, for example.

    Yeah, a lot of them shop in Iceland alright, especially the Northside shopping centre branch.


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    #22
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    Years-it-took-Fertility-to-fall-from-6-to-below-3.png


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    #23
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    10 grand cash per kid conceived before 35. As tax relief. Capped at 4 kids.


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    #24
    cnocbui
    Registered Users Posts: 19,750 ✭✭✭✭cnocbui


    Could you please make that image larger, it's only 2.5 screen widths wide in Firefox, surely you could manage 4.


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    #25
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    cnocbui wrote: »
    Could you please make that image larger, it's only 2.5 screen widths wide in Firefox, surely you could manage 4.

    Not about to break out photoshop. Here's the site it comes from : https://ourworldindata.org/fertility-rate


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    #26
    RacoonQueen
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 20,364 Mod ✭✭✭✭RacoonQueen


    professore wrote: »
    What do the good people of Boards think the solution is?

    Designer babies. Make them less loud/expensive/annoying/demanding and I might be interested in having one.
    Other than that I'll stick with contributing to the extinction of the species.


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    #27
    Auntie Semite
    Closed Accounts Posts: 274 ✭✭Auntie Semite


    professore wrote: »
    Not sure if it would make a lot of difference. Lots of thirty somethings enjoy life too much to have kids.

    Lots of thirty somethings have a future of loneliness, regret and despair to look forward to...not all but lots.


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    #28
    cnocbui
    Registered Users Posts: 19,750 ✭✭✭✭cnocbui


    professore wrote: »
    Not about to break out photoshop. Here's the site it comes from : https://ourworldindata.org/fertility-rate

    That's considerate of you...

    FU.jpg


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    #29
    RacoonQueen
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 20,364 Mod ✭✭✭✭RacoonQueen


    cnocbui wrote: »
    Could you please make that image larger, it's only 2.5 screen widths wide in Firefox, surely you could manage 4.

    It's grand in Chrome.


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    #30
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    Auntie Semite wrote: »
    Lots of thirty somethings have a future of loneliness, regret and despair to look forward to...not all but lots.

    Maybe, maybe not. I have kids myself, many of my friends don't, they seem happy enough and have more time to form friendships with other people than I do. My kids will have lives of their own to live. I didn't have kids to stop being lonely. I'm not sure why I had kids. I wouldn't change them for the world but initially it was because my wife wanted kids.


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    #31
    work
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭work


    We are an infection on the earth and are destroying it. Some believe having kids and a house is a right but this is so wrong it should be earned. Then people believe the state should provide a pension. Why? People argue without kids these pensions can't be paid for. What are these kids slaves for us to milk?
    Sorry for the rant but our system is SO WRONG and only leads to massive suffering.
    The world needs to be about sustainability of reasonable numbers and not growth. Growth cannot happen forever and I know this goes against everything our society stands for but it is wrong!
    Finally why should OAPs sit on their arses it destroys them?


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