AK84:
Lets face an ugly truth. Having kids is not economically viable in todays world. I am a 32 year old, professional, well off (for now) male, and a wife and family would above all be an expense for me, one that I am not sure. I doubt its much different for many other men. Focusing solely on women to increase fertility is doomed.
Moreover, another ugly truth, the arrival of women into the workplace in droves is far more responsible for driving down the fertility rate. The modern workplace basically by definition is predicated upon either having a stay at home spouse, or eternal bachelorhood. Especially in today’s service economy with its 80-100 hour work weeks.
We basically have two options,Majorian option .
ii) Reform the workplace to stop it from being so anti-family; or more accurately make it reflect modern social more and technology, do Mom and Dad really need to spend 100 hour a week at the office in the era of mass, portable communication?
The stereotypical militant, man-hating, lesbian feminist of rightist lore is not the cause of the reduced birthrate; its the beleaguered, overworked and underpaid office worker who would love tp have a family, but cannot literally afford to right now and keeps delaying it until the matter become moot.
I do agree that it would help if a person could work only say 40-50 hours a week and that income was enough to support a spouse to stay home with the kids.
However to your other point, I wouldnt throw out the anti-child attitude of some of our society who see children as some sort of virus is part of the problem.