In an agrarian society children were assets, because they provided a workforce for the family once they got old enough. As the makeup of our society changed in the 20th century they shifted from an asset to a liability, with the only "return on investment" being that they will potentially care for their parents in old age, which is not guaranteed because our society doesn't place a heavy stigma on stashing your parents in an old folks home to die.
Faced with that reality, the only people having children are those that really want them for the sake of having a child in and of itself, and poor scumbags who don't practice birth control (see Idiocracy).
It's more than just that. The cost to raise a child from birth through college is now astronomical. This article says the per-year cost is 41% more in 2024 than it was eight years ago: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-kids-cost-raising-child-inflation-childcare-tax-exemptions-2024-1
In an agrarian society children were assets, because they provided a workforce for the family once they got old enough. As the makeup of our society changed in the 20th century they shifted from an asset to a liability, with the only "return on investment" being that they will potentially care for their parents in old age, which is not guaranteed because our society doesn't place a heavy stigma on stashing your parents in an old folks home to die.
Faced with that reality, the only people having children are those that really want them for the sake of having a child in and of itself, and poor scumbags who don't practice birth control (see Idiocracy).
We talking total cost or per year, because if that's total then that sounds really fucking affordable.