Donald Trump’s proposed plans to introduce new incentives for women to have babies to combat declining birthrates in the US has come up against one important point.
Sure, kids are great to have (if you want them), but does that mean that everyone should be pumping them out to help the population grow?
Well, that's seemingly what the US president thinks.
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As of right now, the US total fertility rate has declined from 2.1 births per woman since 1990 to 1.62 births per woman in 2023, according to a March report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
And it looks like tackling this is high up on Trump's agenda.
According to the New York Times, some of the incentives Trump has proposed include a $5,000 'baby bonus' for new mothers, expanded child tax credits, having funded menstrual cycle education and reserving 30 percent of Fulbright scholarships for those that are married or have children.
Trump, who has previously labelled himself the 'fertilisation president' (which is…odd), after having five children with three different women, has been in favour of the 'nuclear family' set up for quite some time.
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Now, the reason behind falling birthrates is complex, but all in all, it typically boils down to the things you need to have in order to raise a child well.
When you think about having kids, your first thought might be whether you have space in your home, if you’re close to good education, if your car will fit car seats and so on.
It’s only natural to want to get your ducks in a row before deciding on such a major life change.
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Obviously, we can’t all be rich enough to have those things immediately.
Then, there’s your career.
Who will work and who will sacrifice their career without pay or relevant work experience to jot down on their CV when the time comes to go back into the workforce?
Safe to say, there's a lot of things to consider before having a kid.
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But one is topping the rest of the list - can you afford it? According to people online, it’s a no.
Crunching the numbers: how much difference will Trump's incentives actually make?
We now live in a world where typically, you need to live in a dual-income household just to scrape by due to the cost of living crisis, which makes it hard to financially afford a baby.
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And when one Twitter user posted the new Trump incentives, people were riled up and ready to kick off.
They wrote: “Trump "considering" a $5,000 ‘baby bonus’ to encourage "births". Meanwhile it costs on average $10,000 to $18,000 to give birth and baby expenses range from $1,100 to $2,500 monthly. Not including rent, food, insurance, and other necessities. This 'bonus' is a joke.”
To this, a user asked: “So who will cover the other $295,000+ to raise a child in the US after the $5,000 baby bonus?”
Another said: “Exactly! Hell that's 6 months of Pampers!”
Someone else wrote: “S***, $5000 won’t even cover the copay on the hospital bill for the birth.”
According to an article by The Guardian, the average cost of raising a child from birth to age 18 in the US is $237,482, which pulled data from a 2023 study which took into consideration milk, nappies, food, education, travel and lots more.
True that. I have two toddlers, and I’m broke.
It seems like the general population can see that it costs too much as well.
Topics: US News, Parenting, Money, Social Media, Donald Trump
Britt Jones