• PumpkinDrama@reddthat.com
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    2 hours ago

    This seems like overcompensating for the child limit. Are they going to be like a yoyo, swinging from one extreme to the other until they find a balance, like all things should be?

    • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today
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      7 hours ago

      they did a long time ago, but thier 1 child policy had generational effect, too little women and too much men ratio, plus other problems like job prospects outside of university(mostly around engineering, and other stems) too much graduates for too small of a pool for jobs.

      and the rising COL in the country too, and the CCP trying to lure USA Scientists for job hunting as gotten the netizens incensed. in hindsight chinese citizens arnt having childrens because of that, so ccp might blowing smoke, if they dont solve the underlying issues.(not to mention the evergrande situation happened too.

    • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
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      20 hours ago

      that want to have children

      As long as people who don’t want to have children aren’t pressured. Not everyone is interested in parenting, and that needs to be accepted.

      • dan1101@lemmy.world
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        15 hours ago

        China isn’t good about things like that. They have billions of people, they aren’t going to worry about the feelings of those not contributing to the machine.

      • BangCrash@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        How have you taken a good thing for people and turned it into a bad thing for you.

        Can’t you just be happy for others without making it about yourself?

        • Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world
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          16 hours ago

          China is not doing this out of kindness or altruism in any respects. They don’t care about people wanting to have kids. They’re doing it because they need more poor people to keep working and replenishing the poor workers, to prop up the elite class. Why can’t you see this?

          Not isolated to China. Most western countries including the US have the same goals, it’s not altruistic.

          • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
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            15 hours ago

            Yes, there is real concern that measures to prop up birth rates might become coercive. That people may feel pressured to reproduce whether they want to or not.

            • Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz
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              11 hours ago

              there is real concern

              By who?

              people may feel pressured

              There is nothing the cpc could do that would register compared to the pressure exerted by the average parent.

              • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
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                11 hours ago

                You don’t foresee governments being capable of engaging in coercive, if not outright totalitarian measures?

                As a simple hypothetical example: consider the effect of banning (or otherwise significantly restricting) contraceptives.

                • Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz
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                  8 hours ago

                  Governments? Yes. China specifically? Probably not. Korea maybe, because they’ve been having some extremely normal politics as of late.

                  Chinese dudes I’ve talked to have lamented the contradictory pressure and social requirements of getting married, I can’t predict what kind of policy would help address this. Promoting gay marriage and adoption? Telling parents it’s fine if everyone doesn’t get married? Housing subsidies for grandparents to move nearby and provide childcare so a smaller dowry is acceptable? Letting immigrants on spouse visas work?

                  The women I’ve talked to have mostly lamented the same bullshit women everywhere deal with, dudes cheating or being unwilling to put in the same effort. IDK if these concerns will result in policy changes.

          • BangCrash@lemmy.world
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            15 hours ago

            Sure but that’s a totally different discussion than the other commentor making it about themselves

          • BangCrash@lemmy.world
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            14 hours ago

            Exactly it’s not about you.

            So why are you commenting that some people DONT WANT KIDS and this shouldnt be forced on us.

            You are making it about yourself.

            • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
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              14 hours ago

              The only person trying to make it about me is…you.

              Quit trying to make it happen, and stop with the fucking gaslighing.

              • BangCrash@lemmy.world
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                13 hours ago

                The original comment was

                “Anything that helps people that want to have children is good”

                Your response was

                “As long as people who don’t want to have children aren’t pressured. Not everyone is interested in parenting, and that needs to be accepted.”

                At no point was anyone’s talking about forcing people to have kids. You’ve built a strawman and are arguing about something that nobody is talking about.

                You. You have made it about yourself and are now trying to pretend you didn’t.

                • k0e3@lemmy.ca
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                  7 hours ago

                  Yeah, the guy you’re talking to took “anything” and started talking about some hypothetical rapist government when the original comment clearly says “people that want to have children.”

      • RagingRobot@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        It’s the planet’s own fault for allowing life in the first place

        I mean there is only one planet we know of that has life, why shouldn’t it be infested with it

    • mrl1@jlai.lu
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      1 day ago

      Childbirth costs isn’t what’s preventing people from having babies though

      • ameancow@lemmy.world
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        22 hours ago

        You’re right, falling birth rates are affecting people in rich and poor countries alike.

        I think the answer is more complicated and has a lot to do with our collective psychology as a species, what we’re consuming and what we’re feeling about our futures.

        That said, money and cost do play a huge role in this. People have complicated feelings on having families right now, and the barrier of cost is a great idea for the brain to seize onto as a validation for avoiding continuation of the species.

        • dude@lemmings.world
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          21 hours ago

          In China even high schools are paid, the answer is not complicated in this case. It’s just crazy expensive to have children in China with the local salaries

    • rollerbang@lemmy.world
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      22 hours ago

      I agree with this in the basis of the thought. But depending on the social security in various countries there are groups that abuse this help. So I’m hoping that loopholes are plugged at the same time.

      • Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world
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        22 hours ago

        That kind of thinking is what stops the US from implementing any kind of decent social programs. If your first concern is ppl taking advantage of it you’re not really concerned with helping ppl

        • njordomir@lemmy.world
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          5 hours ago

          Yeah, when I support a social program, it’s with the knowledge and acceptance that some abuse will occur. It’s just that I think, despite the abuse, the upside is still a superior outcome to not doing it at all. Maybe one day we’ll rebuild the cultural fabric to the point where people don’t feel so desperate they immediately exploit any crack in the system regardless of the risks or long-term outcomes. With changes in culture and wealth distribution worldwide, I believe global prosperity is absolutely possible.

          I can’t imagine welfare of any kind is more abused than the process by which the US government farms things out to private companies. If the poor are suckling at the teet of the welfare cow, then private industry is the wolf ripping it’s head off. Just look at the clusters of contractors that show up like flies on shit any time the money faucet is opened.

          Yeah, I want my neighbors to have heat in the winter, food when they lose their job, and universal childcare. If I have to pay a few extra bucks a year for that it’s better than pouring it into the rest of the money-holes in Washington DC.

          OP mentions being from another country. I don’t have a ton of experience with countries commonly regarded as corrupt, though I did go to Nigeria once; money flows >>differently<< there. But there’s also a stronger social fabric. I don’t know if I could vote for any tax when there is suck a blatant track record of shady dealings (though it’s arguable we’ve all been doing that). It was fascinating and I hope to go back some day.

        • rollerbang@lemmy.world
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          20 hours ago

          I’m not from the US… Not by far. Where I’m from many people abuse the system by having an exorbitant amount of children (10+), get free kindergarten care, extra money, don’t work, don’t contribute to society, steal, cause issues, etc.

      • floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        21 hours ago

        This policy that would help hundreds of millions of people could potentially be abused by thousands!

      • Mediocre_Bard@lemmy.world
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        22 hours ago

        How could you abuse this? If I have a child and get my medical costs covered, I don’t get any additional benefits if I ditch the child.

    • poopkins@lemmy.world
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      22 hours ago

      That seems somewhat unfair towards people with other interests who aren’t being subsidized.

      • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
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        11 hours ago

        Lol, and BangCrash went out of their way to be offended by my comment in this post.

        BTW, I’m not attacking you and don’t really care. I just feel that I was unfairly singled out.

      • balsoft@lemmy.ml
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        22 hours ago

        Sadly, when it comes down to it, children are necessary for society to function long-term. They are the people who will be financing and effecting your retirement, at least in a well-functioning society. I think it is a sound policy to make sure people can have children without any unnecessary suffering, there’s plenty of necessary suffering in there already.

        • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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          10 hours ago

          Nah, human fucking can’t be stopped but even if 99% of the human race was sterile for a geneation the earth would still have more humans left on it than the vast majority of recorded history.

          Modern nations should be supporting population declines.

        • ameancow@lemmy.world
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          22 hours ago

          Sadly, when it comes down to it, children are necessary for society to function long-term.

          It shouldn’t be sad, this is basic reality. We should love kids and want kids and pressure our own countries to make it easier to have families.

          I am really getting worried that the left broadly is turning soft anti-natalist and there is no faster way to end your movement than by not having more people. I feel like “birth rates” and “fertility” are terms that we feel have been co-opted by the right because figures like Elon Musk and the manosphere bros.

          • poopkins@lemmy.world
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            20 hours ago

            How many humans should we aim to have, long term? 20 billion? 50 billion? We’re already on track to reach 10 billion in the next 25 years.

            I believe that as a society, we should have a long-term plan and a goal for our species’s population count, because simply offering incentives for continued growth in order to continue funding generational gaps in our pyramid scheme of social welfare is untenable. Ultimately we will reach the logistical capacity of a functional welfare state, to say nothing of all the other problems.

            • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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              19 hours ago

              We probably won’t ever hit 11 billion contiguous humans. At least not without colonizing Venus. The birthrates worldwide are dropping quickly, and every time another country passes through the Industrial Age, into the Modern Age, their birthrates fall off a cliff. I suspect we will eventually stabilize around 9 billion people, which is a few billion lower than the maximum projected sustainable population of The Earth.

            • ameancow@lemmy.world
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              19 hours ago

              How many humans should we aim to have, long term? 20 billion? 50 billion?

              That’s not what this issue is about, this isn’t “pro-growth” this is about averting economic and logistical collapse across much of the developed world.

              Sure, we could do with a reduced population, but it needs to be reduced slowly enough that we don’t see mass casualties and so that our infrastructure, production and logistics aren’t suddenly unmanned, or many, many people will suffer.

              We have to understand that the argument for continued population upkeep is about stability not some desire to perpetually increase population. There’s not a sharp, two-sided binary here, the problem is that many, many people in the developed world are having either no kids or not enough to keep up with expected decline and longer lifespans. When we run out of young people to run our cities, our roads, our offices and our shipyards and rail systems, we end up with collapse.

              Look into South Korea for a vision of the worst case and think about what will happen broadly when the same syndrome hits other major world powers and logistical hubs.

              • poopkins@lemmy.world
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                14 hours ago

                I think you’re missing the forest for the trees. Continuing to fixate on short-term problems like bridging a generational gap—which incidentally we’ve survived many times in anthropological history—by continuing policies with long-term ramifications is not a good plan.

                At some point we need to come to terms with the fact that continuous population growth is not tenable. Whether the population cap is 10 billion or 100 billion, the fact of the matter is that we will eventually hit it. We can’t keep procrastinating because we’re unwilling to resolve the challenges you’ve mentioned in a more effective manner.

                Call me an optimist, but if we’re unable to change our habits as a species, perhaps a well-needed revolution will kick us into action.

                • ameancow@lemmy.world
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                  9 hours ago

                  You and people who raise this notion are all for rapid depopulation when you aren’t imagining it’s you dealing with the impact of billions of people not having enough resources. It sounds a bit entitled.

      • ameancow@lemmy.world
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        22 hours ago

        China is thinking long-term and practical. If they lose their young work-force it won’t matter what those “other people” are doing or not.

        Someone in China told me once that one of the biggest differences between China and Europe/USA is that in the west we think in terms of years or decades. In China they are making plans for the next several centuries.

        This isn’t a glowing endorsement of the heinous shit China has done, but it should at least make you understand that this isn’t a social welfare program designed to help families as much as the first of many measures to fight the forces that are eroding the power and production capability of other countries. If you want to see how bad it can get, look into what the future holds for South Korea.

        • ErmahgherdDavid@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          21 hours ago

          years or decades.

          Let’s face it, in neoliberal democracies we barely think past the next quarter. Next election cycle at the most!

          I would love a government with a long term outlook rather than one that is concerned only with getting re-elected or failing that getting a cushy job with one of their “donors” after they leave office

  • Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Desperation?

    People don’t want to have kids. I wonder why. Remember the laying flat movement and the 996 culture.

    I wonder why.

    If only there was an actual solution to this LOLOL…

      • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        The truth is that the strength of a democracy has little relation to the birth rate. If you live in the US, for example, you only live in a democracy if your income is in the top 10%. This has actually been studied. The opinions of the poorest 90% of the population have absolutely zero bearing on what government policy is implemented.

        The US and China actually have similar levels of democracy. China forms all its policies from the CCP, an organization of about 100 million people. The share of the population in China that has any impact on policy is actually quite similar to the share that does the same in the US.

        • scarabic@lemmy.world
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          18 hours ago

          It’s true. The very poor people I’ve known in the US have believed that “the system is rigged” and they have little freedom and no voice. They believe they are exploited by powers far beyond their ability to challenge and the last way any of it would ever change is through voting, which they see as an empty, farcical gesture.

        • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.ca
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          1 day ago

          While you are correct, taking a piss poor example of democracy against another piss poor example of democracy doesn’t really explain anything. I said authoritarian regime, I stand by that.

            • Miaou@jlai.lu
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              1 day ago

              All the ones in Europe (if you count them as democratic obviously)

              • ThirdConsul@lemmy.ml
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                1 day ago

                I think you’re imagining that statistics, because they do not. But hey, let’s check. Name three European countries that have population replacement birth levels.

              • hitmyspot@aussie.zone
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                1 day ago

                No, but your comment implies it would be higher, even if that wasn’t your intention.

                • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.ca
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                  11 hours ago

                  Do you want to discuss things with the public, or do you want to debate the voices in your head and the things they told you I said.

      • Socialism_Everyday@reddthat.com
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        14 hours ago

        I agree, but how is that relevant to China? It pretty consistently has the highest government satisfaction rates in the world.

        Edit: and before you accuse me of Chinese propaganda, that’s data from western organizations like Pew Research or Ash Institute

        • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.ca
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          14 hours ago

          Because they jail/disappear anyone who complains? Lol.

          Edit: Without entrenched freedom of speech, surveys mean nothing but what respondants think their opressors want to hear.

            • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.ca
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              13 hours ago

              You seem to struggle with the simple concept. So badly in fact, that I suspect this is all disingenuous bullshit from a bad faith ideologue.

              In the slight chance this is just a high level of ignorance, naievety or low IQ, here is my polite response.

              Oppressed people won’t tell anyone anything that can be used against them, western or not. Pew Research isn’t going to protect them. The Ash institute won’t un-disapear anyone. The people speaking to western, even academic sources still have to live under oppression when the survey is done.

              Speaking to foreign journalist is a great way to get your family threatened.

              https://rsf.org/en/chinese-regime-s-fierce-repression-journalists-hidden-behind-day-celebration

              Edit: Never mind. For bad faith arguments I hereby award you a personal block.

              • Socialism_Everyday@reddthat.com
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                13 hours ago

                Quoting RSF, the western politicized organization that refused to comment on the illegal arbitrary detention of a Spanish journalist in Poland. The organization classifying England’s “Press Freedom Index” as satisfactory while all sorts of reporters bring up the massive repression against anti-zionism in all media. Surely that Montpellier-based organization with branches exclusively in western countries could not be used as a political tool!

                You have literally never spoken to a Chinese person living in China, and it shows.

                Oppressed people won’t tell anyone anything that can be used against them, western or not

                Look. I understand you’ve been exposed to decades of anti-China propaganda, but this is fucking wild. In my university department I’ve been fortunate enough to direct the master’s and bachelor’s theses of some 10 Chinese students. I’ve discussed politics with most of them, between 2020 and 2024 for a frame of reference. We’re talking highly trained young men and women from a variety of backgrounds and provinces. None of them has had any problem talking to me about politics, other than “I’m not really interested” for some of them. Out of those students, only one chose to pursue a career in Germany (highly developed, rich country in Europe), the rest moved back to “authoritarian, evil, oppressive” China.

                The one who chose to stay in Germany told me that he came to Europe considering himself an opposition supporter against the government of China, but that when he saw the politics in Europe, he started to be a lot more charitative towards the Chinese government and he’s not so clear about his position anymore. Another student told me she couldn’t understand how the German government did nothing while hundreds of thousands of citizens were needlessly dying of COVID because it didn’t want to infringe too much on “the economy”.

                Tell me now: how many actually Chinese people living in China have you spoken with?

        • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.ca
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          12 hours ago

          “Oh I hope my children grow up in an authoritarian dumpster fire. Rights are scary and I can’t be trusted with them.”

          • you, probably.
          • PumpkinDrama@reddthat.com
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            2 hours ago

            Or maybe somewhere where you don’t have to spend half of your salary paying rent? Like China.

      • ɯᴉuoʇuɐ@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 day ago

        Ehh, the character of the regime doesn’t seem to affect birth rates a whole lot. Brutal dictatorships that make China seem like a gentle puppy could have perfectly ok birth rates. E.g. Nazi Germany had 2.5 fertility rate in 1939 and 1940, it was their highest since 1922: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Germany

        I really don’t think the average Chinese cares too much about how authoritarian their govt is when it comes to deciding on whether to have kids. The consequences of one-child policy, economic prospects, stability, general cultural optimism/pessimism, social habits (and the effects of technology on them), etc. are all likely to be much more important factors.

        • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.ca
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          1 day ago

          The consequences of one-child policy, economic prospects, stability, general cultural optimism/pessimism, social habits (and the effects of technology on them), etc. are all likely to be much more important factors.

          Those are all directly and heavily influenced by an authoritarian regime, so in the exhale you disagree with me, while on the inhale you argue my point. ;)

          • ɯᴉuoʇuɐ@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            1 day ago

            Those are all directly and heavily influenced by all regimes in general, aside from the one-child policy which might be regarded as an authoritiarian policy. Shit economy making people not want kids works the same both in democracies and in authoritarian countries (in fact, the latter might even dampen the negative psychological effects upon the population through propaganda).

      • chloroken@lemmy.ml
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        1 day ago

        Children in China have better lives than those in the US.

        And you’re mad about it.

          • Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz
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            1 day ago

            As someone currently in China, I’d rather have a kid here than in the US.

            There’s a lot more random shit explicitly for children around, like malls will have basketball courts, arcades, playgrounds, and other things that definitely doesn’t generate as much, if any revenue, so kids aren’t just expected to silently follow their parents around or be on the phone for hours at a time. As a consequence, you see fewer outbursts of children in public. They still have a long way to go regarding mental health in other ways. A mother I talked to was confused that anyone could think it’s possible to teach children to listen without hitting them.

            As far as education goes, I see more small, private schools than the US, which worries me as it implies the public schools in the area aren’t as good. It’s notoriously stressful for the children, but then so is living with a real danger of getting shot at school.

            • Nico198X@europe.pub
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              24 hours ago

              thanks for your actually sensible and cogent input.

              it’s hard for me to understand how private schools can exist in China. i have a difficult time understanding how they balance / navigate between socialism and capitalism.

              i would never raise my children in the US. the US has too many problems. we’re quite happy in the EU. as you say, lots of children and family friendly public spaces around, and even as a part of private places they set aside spots for kids without cost.

    • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today
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      1 day ago

      HCOL, many graduates are having impossible time of finding jobs, plus china trying to lure graduates/phd from the states has incensed them as well.

  • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Good. Can’t wait to beat this drum to hopefully shame the less than useless US congress to do ANYTHING.

    • VitoRobles@lemmy.today
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      1 day ago

      I mean, shaming America’s greatness against other countries has worked in the past. That’s how we got:

      • Universal healthcare
      • Mandated paid maternity/parental leave
      • More than two dominant political parties
      • Cheaper or free college education
      • High-speed passenger rail
      • Mandated annual paid vacation time

      Oh wait.

        • comfy@lemmy.ml
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          13 hours ago

          Judging by the two-party system and the past Democrat governments, I don’t think there’s a significant possibility of getting more than one those in the next decade. At least four of them run directly in contradiction to the groups with enough money to systematically sponsor and corrupt politicians (no matter which party), own mass media and control other relevant institutions.

          These kind of things only happen when people have the power to pressure the government into supplying them.

    • VitoRobles@lemmy.today
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      1 day ago

      Yeah! Why would China spend that money on their people when they could spend it on their military and use their military to harass brown countries?

      • ODGreen@lemmy.ca
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        1 day ago

        I mean, China does also spend on their military and harass brown countries.

          • ODGreen@lemmy.ca
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            20 hours ago

            Whataboutism.

            China is #2 in military spending after the USA.

            As for harassing brown people: well there’s the whole Uyghur thing. And the simmering fight with other countries over islands in the South China sea.

            Two things can be bad. These are not sports teams where one side wins and the other loses.

            • comfy@lemmy.ml
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              13 hours ago

              Two things can be bad. These are not sports teams where one side wins and the other loses.

              Yes. I completely agree. However, it’s important to dispel false equivalence. Every country spends money on military, that doesn’t imply they’re all bad or neglecting their citizens.

              Why is the US spending so much on military? Why is China spending so much on military? Why does the US routinely invade countries in other regions? Why does China suppress Uyghur people in the Xinjiang conflict? Like you said, two things can be bad, but it’s also negligent to imply the two situations are comparable.

              China is #2 in military spending after the USA.

              I don’t believe they have another option, given the USA’s military and aggression.

              It’s telling how limited their spending is - consider China’s disproportionate economy, size and population, and their borders. According to Wikipedia, they only spend 1.7% of their GDP on military - that’s alongside the Netherlands, Czechia, Italy and Spain.

              • ODGreen@lemmy.ca
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                12 hours ago

                Yeah that’s the thing. USA and China are both bad, sometimes due to the same thing (imperialism, capitalism, cronies running things etc), sometimes for unique things. Saying one country is good doesn’t make the other bad in the same domain. And vice versa.

                However it is extremely important and necessary to compare things. Like you have compared military spending between different countries. The USA’s manifest destiny CAN be compared to the Han supremacy in China especially in Tibet and Xinjiang. But of course there are marked differences.

            • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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              18 hours ago

              China is #2 in military spending after the USA.

              China plus the next 13 countries on the list can’t total US military spending. And I don’t even know if Israel + Ukraine should count, given how much of their military budget is just US foreign aid.

              As for harassing brown people: well there’s the whole Uyghur thing.

              The original “evidence” of 1 million Uyghurs in concentration camps stems from US propaganda outlets and far-right “researchers” like Adrian Zenz. These numbers could not be independently verified, and other media sources that repeat these claims merely cite each other or this original, US-backed research. Zenz himself is a known antisemitic conspiracy theorist, far-right evangelical, and Islamophobe who has written that the Jews who refuse to convert to Christianity will be wiped out by God in a “fiery furnace”. Why would a German with such hateful views toward Jews and Muslims be such a champion of Uyghur rights? It was later found that Zenz had received $625,000 from Donald Trump’s Chief Strategist Steve Bannon to help him fabricate the story of Uyghur genocide.

              Brother, you are sucking from the tailpipe of propaganda while your country is drowning in the blood of native peoples.

              • ODGreen@lemmy.ca
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                18 hours ago

                Nice genocide denial.

                Also I’m not American nor pro-American.

                • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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                  18 hours ago

                  genocide denial

                  Brother, get your ass to Afghanistan and say that to any of the survivors of the US occupation.

                  You don’t care what genocide is. You just want some foreigner to eat your sins.

                  Also I’m not American

                  Did you clap for Yaroslav Hunka with the rest of your ilk?

    • jaybone@lemmy.zip
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      1 day ago

      I think once they are covered, they will no longer be uncovered. I.e. no longer be out of pocket.

      Still you have to pay to raise them, which I’m guessing is the main factor for people not to want children. Which I suppose is what the government is trying to encourage here.

  • someguy3@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    They don’t have universal healthcare?

    Also DYK China now has a 3 child policy. Maximum, that is.

  • raviiishing@sh.itjust.works
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    1 day ago

    The solution is to pay workers enough so that the government doesn’t need to shift the burden of paying for children to those who don’t even have any.

    As always, the money needs to come from the people at the top. As always, privatize the gains and socialize the losses.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      The solution is to pay workers enough so that the government doesn’t need to shift the burden of paying for children to those who don’t even have any.

      I know you’re banned, and this comment tells me a lot about why that probably happened without me having to dig through the mod history.

      This is some pro-capitalism slop even if you think it’s so far left it has tank treads. This is a surefire tactic to put a nation’s healthcare in the same situation the US is in now. Without a total reform of the entire economic foundation of a country, you are simply NOT fucking getting a government who will tax their wealthy to keep up with whatever the healthcare system is charging for their procedures.

      This is why healthcare is more complicated than lopping off the heads of the elites and spreading that money. We have to make systems that ensure no single person or institution is left on the hook for figuring out what to charge or pay.

      edit: the comment gets worse the more I reread it.

      doesn’t need to shift the burden of paying for children to those who don’t even have any

      This is the very fundamental principle of having healthcare, whether it’s private or public, it’s very expensive and resource-intensive to keep people broadly alive and healthy, you absolutely cannot start deciding who gets this funding and who doesn’t deserve it if you want a fair system, and it feels like everyone (people like you) really get bent out of shape about this right up until YOU are the special case who needs society to pool our resources to help you with your stupid problem. Then suddenly the “social contract” that made you so mad previously seems like a pretty good idea. FFS I am so fed up with narrow-minded children weighing in on shit they have no understanding of.

    • webadict@lemmy.world
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      23 hours ago

      That doesn’t make any sense.

      Paying workers more is fine, but you’re saying that the costs for reproduction should come from parents, and then you’re saying they should come from the rich. People without children should contribute to childcare costs, and they are incentivized to do so, too, because children are important to pretty much everything. By having the government fund childcare, the rich do contribute more.

      Whatever you said is inconsistent.

      • pachrist@lemmy.world
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        12 hours ago

        I don’t know, it makes a lot of sense, in an asinine way. Many people are self-centered and incredibly selfish. Of course we all benefit from living in a world where children are happy, fed, cared for, and well adjusted. But for folks without kids, it’s usually indirect, rather than direct benefits, making it harder to quantify.

        But, their property taxes that fund schools are easy to quantify, so the selfish get grumpy about it.

        It’s like not wanting your tax dollars to fund cancer research, because you don’t have cancer. It makes no sense, until you remember the person talking is a selfish dunce.

    • KernelTale@programming.dev
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      24 hours ago

      Everyone has been born so everyone should have had a free birth. I do agree that workers need better pay but certain expenses should be handled by the government only. It’s not gonna properly optimize itself by supply and demand when we as a society benefit in more children.