I have written in earlier threads that I am surprised when walking on green way's in the Huntsville/Madison area how many young people are having large families. That may be due to the government funding that has flowed into Huntsville over the years and the corresponding much higher that average earnings in the area. It would seem an anomaly given the earnings potential for a significant percentage of millennials who lack the education to enter into the tech industry.Like always, there remain a lot of questions. But frankly, investing in kids at an early age is probably the cheapest and best idea any country can have. Our current system sucks, frankly, so I think there's way more room upward than downward.
Why are so many responsible millennials not having kids? Because they're just too damn expensive. This isn't the 60's anymore. It takes a lot of effort and financial stability to afford rent/mortgage AND a child. That's a lot of certainty and security than many don't have until much later in life. Ultimately, it's not a good reflection on our society if the most educated among us are weighing the options and deciding that children simply aren't worth the financial burden. But that's exactly what's happening in my generation, and it's going to become a huge problem if we don't confront it.
Having said that I agree that investing in children should be one of the primary indicators of an advanced society. The fact that we haven't done so for generations is a strong casual factor for many of the societal ills that plague us in the US.
I do believe that the US has moved well past its zenith in terms of its ability to generate a broad standard of living and the wealth creation enjoyed by the baby boomers. It seems folly to project a future for those moving into adulthood in the coming years based on history when we have basically mortgaged their future.
Without transformative leadership and problem solving we will, based on economics, enter into a period of cutting back and reducing the size of government by necessity. Expecting to add $1 trillion annually to our national debt we should begin to recognize that day of reckoning is much closer than we think.
Alas no one will be elected discussing such facts until we are all staring into the abyss. Sorry to be off topic but we need to evaluate our ability to fund current programs and begin to make spending cuts along with increased taxation of those earning significant income then reinvest in some of the ideas being discussed.