Oh boy what a loaded topic, but to sum it up in terms of ‘future’ reasons:
Climate Change
Carbon footprint minimization/we do not want kids in an unstable environment especially when the world is already on fire and on track to spiral out of control
Economic Inequality
Cost of living - more and more people are unable to make ends meet even when both parents go to work.
Housing costs - desirable housing locations, often close to workplaces, costs have been driven up or hoarded by corporations and often the older generation. Working from home is the antithesis to another asset class - the office towers - why you’ll see desperate governments to mandate back-to-office legislation. To hell with carbon emissions from our commutes especially car-centric societies.
Lack of opportunity - governments around the world have made barriers to entry to simply get up and move (think passports, work permits etc) OR require local recognized qualifications to a new job with large amounts of red tape or capital upfront alongside investment in time. In some places it’s healthcare.
Cost of having a child is too high with all of these combined from a capital point of view
Looming threat of war - for some reason, the adults still haven’t managed to obtain world peace, usually because money/greed, eye-for-an-eye, and millions duped by religion, tribalism to support this. Meanwhile, the world has begun to rearm itself as US hegemony pulls back. Do you want your child to live in a war torn world?
As for the ‘current’ reasons:
If you’re a millennial, you’re probably bitter. Everything that you’ve been told, promised, or dreamed of has been systemically torn to shreds. You witnessed the rise of the information age, only to have it weaponized before your very eyes by big tech and influencers as it invades your privacy. The financial system have gone through not just one ‘once-in-a-lifetime crisis’ but several, but only to see it become rigged, so now it overwhelmingly only benefits a certain group of rich assholes. You’ve seen the climate change before your very eyes in the last 3-4 decades while the ‘adults’ still close their eyes and ears for the sake of short-term gains. Oh and add in a few potential and real pandemics - SARS, Ebola, Avian bird flu, mad cow disease, COVID-19, etc. If only we collectively pooled resources we could eliminate them - but big pharma and Wall St. needs their profits. You also learned from the pandemic that a good number of people around you are complete morons - anti-vax, anti-maskers. Then we look at the ecosystem of life - bugs are dying out, oceans are being over fished - we’re on track for an environmental collapse unless we dial back our own consumption. But the biggest one of all is probably your view on government - how it’s dysfunctional and corrupted by the rich and the corporations. All the problems we’ve had could have been ‘fixed’ if they were truly responsible adults. They could have been truly great people - but alas, you’ve seen human beings fill those seats only to discover that they’re weak willed, spineless, scheming, or straight up corrupt. They’ve practically mortgaged our futures and straddled our collective wealth with enormous debt. Geez, I wonder why people don’t want kids - you’d probably want to see the entire system collapse than to have kids.
If you’re younger than a millennial, you’re probably thinking we’re all fucked, so I got no fucks left to give.
The hollowing out of education and public services - there is a sinister global cabal of filthy rich assholes that have their own agenda of trying to play ‘world-emperor’. Governments are doing an extremely poor job right now in rectifying this.
Why government needs you to have kids:
Our almost ponzi scheme like economic system and pension funds are going to be in the shitter if we don’t have more economic output 2 generations down the line.*
So yeah, not having kids, is straight up, a fuck you and fuck what they’ve done.
*This is why I believe there’s only one route out if they can’t fill the gap with more babies or with the band-aid fix of mass immigration - technological advances (like AI) in hopes to cover the loss of productivity from a shrinking population count.
Oh boy what a loaded topic, but to sum it up in terms of ‘future’ reasons:
As for the ‘current’ reasons:
Why government needs you to have kids:
So yeah, not having kids, is straight up, a fuck you and fuck what they’ve done.
*This is why I believe there’s only one route out if they can’t fill the gap with more babies or with the band-aid fix of mass immigration - technological advances (like AI) in hopes to cover the loss of productivity from a shrinking population count.