Post #3638633

Only if you confuse security with income. People have kids when they can reasonably assume that their kids will have the same level of lifestyle they do. People judge wealth relatively. They feel ready to have children when they can provide their children with a similar level of resources and opportunities they had. What barometer do people have other than their own childhood? That’s not hard to guarantee as a subsistence farmer, as long as they own or otherwise have secure rights to the land. It’s a secure but impoverished existence. Sure you’re not immune from the weather, but that’s true for both parents and children. “Let’s have kids. Sure we don’t live in a big fancy city, but if it’s good enough for us, at worst it can be good enough for them.” Compare that to wealthy people in developed countries. If you’re a middle class person now and want your kids to have the same lifestyle you do, better be prepared to help them with the down payment on a house.