Reply #280: What is so hard about this for people to understand? [View All]

[Hello_Kitty]

There are advanced countries with fertility rates down around 1.3 (such as Japan and Italy). If a country sustained that for some decades, the population would really fall - in a gradual manner, with no forced family planning. If the majority of people looked on having children as a huge step, to be done when you're ready, and only then, and with no societal pressure on people to "settle down and have a family" or "give us some grandchildren", we'd get a long way towards that.

Spot on, and I'd also add that tax and government assistance policies that favor procreation need to be reevaluated. That invariably leads to loud shrieking from the pronatalists but it needs to be done.