[throwaway03626]

In my opinion it could be solved by simply making it more attractive to have children, but it would require more equality and redistribution of wealth to cover the costs. There would still be billionaires, but the number of ultra-rich may be reduced.

Women wants careers and equal opportunities. That means they wait longer and longer before they get children because they want to make sure they have a career to go back to. That is the single most important problem that we need to solve.

1. Provide a decent parental leave (1 year minimum) with full pay.

2. Women often end up as the primary care giver who has to take care of the child when it is sick or attend parental meetings. This often hurts their career. We should incentivise men to take an equal part in raising a child, so that this is more accepted in work situations.

3. Provide free child care and health care. Many simply can't afford the additional financial burden of a child.

4. Provide free education including University. (see point 3)

5. Reduce the financial risk by creating a good safety net. If one or both of the parents are not able to cover their part, the government needs to provide enough support.

Simply put, the choice of having a child should not hurt families financially, or hurt their careers. Humans are "programmed" to want to reproduce, so if we remove the financial barriers

Yes, this will be expensive but it will be less expensive than a future without enough young people to take care of the old.

You are free to ask "Why should my money go to others", but then you don't get to complain when you are 90 years old and only get to shower once a month because they don't have enough people to help you.

[vidarh]

Norway is close to providing all of what you describe and still seeing well below replacement fertility rates. It maybe be a start, and it produces a far more pleasant society, but it's not enough.

[throwaway03626]

There are other concerns as well related to cost of living.

Even though we would like people to live outside the cities, cities attract a lot of potential parents. They end up in a situation where they have a long education and start their careers late and don't have the financial capability to get a decent family friendly apartment in the city. Many wait until it's almost too late, and having more than 1 or 2 is definitely not something most wants

The average age of first-time mothers is over 30 years old. A single child may be something the family can handle, but more than 1 or 2 forces the families to move outside the cities to be able to afford a house in addition to hurting the mother's career.

Tldr:

- Cost of living in the cities are too high

- If a second (or third) child forces them to move out of the city, many increasingly choose the cities

- Having more than one child after 30 will have a negative impact on the career as they simply can't work as many hours and has to spend long periods away from work

[vidarh]

I think you can simplify that: Standards rise as living standards rise. People want more both for themselves and their children when they see that as realistic, and opting for fewer children is a way to make that happen.

[throwaway03626]

Yes, I think that covers everything in a concise way.

If we want to go back to a sustainable birth rate, we need a wide range of actions. Some may require to reduce the financial risks, while others require encouraging cultural changes.