THE BORE

General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: Rman on March 19, 2009, 02:26:18 PM

Title: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Rman on March 19, 2009, 02:26:18 PM
Quote
Chattanooga, Tenn. - A day after giving birth to a 7-pound 2-ounce baby girl, Maria Esparza seems delighted by the news that a record 4.3 million new babies were born in 2007.

"That's great -- more kids!" the Dalton, Ga., resident said from her hospital room in the city's Hamilton Medical Center. "Every birth and every child is a blessing."

More U.S. babies entered the world in 2007 than any other year in the nation's history, even surpassing the number of deliveries during the height of the baby boom that followed World War II, according to federal data released Wednesday

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29765905/
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Eric P on March 19, 2009, 02:29:25 PM
well they're too poor to do much else, so why not fuck?
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Brehvolution on March 19, 2009, 02:30:15 PM
Quote
In 2007, births to unwed mothers hit a record high of nearly 40 percent, continuing a rising trend that has likely been fueled by a lessening of the stigma on single parenthood, said Dr. Bachtel.

"We've seen some phenomenal growth rates in births to unwed mothers," Dr. Bachtel said. "It's become kind of socially acceptable."

That's a fucking shame. :maf

No ethnic breakdown = fail
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Flannel Boy on March 19, 2009, 02:31:42 PM
well they're too poor to do much else, so why not fuck?

Seems like it's pretty expensive to raise a child.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Bocsius on March 19, 2009, 02:32:21 PM
Need more babies in order to have more workers in order to pay for socialist government programs which will require more babies and more workers to pay for programs requiring more babies turning into more workers to pay for
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Rman on March 19, 2009, 02:33:17 PM
Quote
In 2007, births to unwed mothers hit a record high of nearly 40 percent, continuing a rising trend that has likely been fueled by a lessening of the stigma on single parenthood, said Dr. Bachtel.

"We've seen some phenomenal growth rates in births to unwed mothers," Dr. Bachtel said. "It's become kind of socially acceptable."

That's a fucking shame. :maf

No ethnic breakdown = fail

More importantly would be a socio economic breakdown.  
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Brehvolution on March 19, 2009, 02:33:50 PM
well they're too poor to do much else, so why not fuck?

Probably smoke too.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: DJ_Tet on March 19, 2009, 02:35:42 PM
Heh my buddy just got his gf pregnant, it was an accident from antibiotics but they are happy about it and going to make the best of it.  Maybe they'll even get married lol.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Eric P on March 19, 2009, 02:37:48 PM
well they're too poor to do much else, so why not fuck?

Seems like it's pretty expensive to raise a child.

i think it's obvious that no one thinks about the future in america

except for sci-fi writers
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Mr. Gundam on March 19, 2009, 02:37:55 PM
I don't want a kid for another 3 years.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Eric P on March 19, 2009, 02:38:42 PM
I don't want a kid

qft

i looked over and noticed the cactus on my desk is dying.

Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Great Rumbler on March 19, 2009, 02:41:27 PM
The thread title is a bit disingenuous since the article is talking about 2007, which was before the economic downturn.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Brehvolution on March 19, 2009, 02:53:07 PM
Kids are great, btw.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Rman on March 19, 2009, 02:53:30 PM
I modestly propose that we...
LOL.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Eric P on March 19, 2009, 02:59:34 PM
I modestly propose that we...

(http://www.photobasement.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/kidsfirst.jpg)
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Flannel Boy on March 19, 2009, 03:01:59 PM
I don't want a kid

qft

i looked over and noticed the cactus on my desk is dying.



At his point, I don't want a kid. The issue is moot anyway since no woman would want to create one with me.

Great Rumbler, it's also misleading because it uses raw numbers. America, in large part because of immigration, has never had as many adults capable of producing offspring.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: ToxicAdam on March 19, 2009, 03:06:37 PM
I was going to do a post about the ethnic breakdown, but it came across as .. racist? Maybe. So, being a sneaky, evil Republican, I tried to lay the blame on the broken welfare system of the 60's, 70's and 80's. Since the rate of unwed births remained consistently low for minorities much of the century until the late 60's, early 70's .. then it began to jump.

My theory was that people abusing the system (the so called welfare queen) were making it socially acceptable (and sometimes optimal) to be a single parent in our society. Then their children would grow up and repeat the process (babies having babies). But the stats don't really bear that out as the reality.


Anyways, the ethnic breakdown is like this:

Black: 70% (it has increased slightly over the decade)
Hispanic: 51% (this has jumped up tremendously in the past 20 years. It once was below 30%)
White: 25-27% (Its fluctuated, but has remained pretty steady)


Obviously, the majority of "unwed mothers" are white. But it's troublesome to see such high rates among the minorities. Especially among Hispanics who seem likely to reach that 70 percent plateau in another 10-15 years.

So, has there been big social study into the negative effects of being born a child of an unwed mother? I really couldn't find anything on google that was really damning. Like the child was more likely to be illiterate, a criminal, etc etc.

Just from personal experience (my wife being a teacher), the grandmother usually steps in and assumes the role of the second parent. Oftentimes, doing a better job than some of the fathers would (had they been there).
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Flannel Boy on March 19, 2009, 03:23:00 PM

So, has there been big social study into the negative effects of being born a child of an unwed mother? I really couldn't find anything on google that was really damning. Like the child was more likely to be illiterate, a criminal, etc etc.


Obviously, correlations between unwed pregnancies and social ills exist, but I'm not convinced of the causal link, even if it may make intuitive sense. Unwed mothers tend to be younger, have lower incomes, be less educated, are more likely to be from bad areas, etc. So, it's more plausible that these factors, among others, cause the social ills, not the marital status of the mother, per se.

I'm sure Murphy Brown's kid, the child of an educated, wealthy mother, is fine. (yes, I'm aware that she's a fictional character.)
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: BobbyRobby on March 19, 2009, 03:24:01 PM
if they are not going to force birth control on welfare mothers, they should at least provide it to them
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Flannel Boy on March 19, 2009, 03:27:05 PM
I've heard libertarians, in an effort to maintain ideological purity, often argue against providing free birth control, even though it would be a net cost saver to them and society.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Human Snorenado on March 19, 2009, 03:40:53 PM
I've heard libertarians, in an effort to maintain ideological purity, often argue against providing free birth control, even though it would be a net cost saver to them and society.

Personally, I'm all for forced sterilization.  Let's start in the trailer parks and work our way out.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: ToxicAdam on March 19, 2009, 03:50:30 PM
Sterilization seems to expensive. We should make young children watch "John and Kate plus 8" instead. If that show doesn't scare you away from parenthood, nothing else will.


Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Great Rumbler on March 19, 2009, 04:48:56 PM
Sterilization seems to expensive. We should make young children watch "John and Kate plus 8" instead. If that show doesn't scare you away from parenthood, nothing else will.

If you really want to be scared away from parenthood for good just stop by the local dollar theater on a Friday night.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Brehvolution on March 19, 2009, 04:53:42 PM
Quote
Sterilization seems to expensive.

My insurance covered 100%.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Fragamemnon on March 19, 2009, 05:42:48 PM
Sterilization seems to expensive. We should make young children watch "John and Kate plus 8" instead. If that show doesn't scare you away from parenthood, nothing else will.

Vasectomy is a hella cheap fast outpatient operation. Even the BS number my insurance sent to make you feel all warm and fuzzy about your health plan was only about $550 total.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: brawndolicious on March 19, 2009, 06:32:48 PM
Really?  I heard that health insurance didn't cover birth control but maybe that's just for the pill/condoms or anything temporary?  I know that insurance can be used on viagra though.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Cravis on March 20, 2009, 10:39:38 AM
Seems like it's pretty expensive to raise a child.
For taxpayers, yes. For the unwed mothers, no.
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Tauntaun on March 20, 2009, 10:46:53 AM
They're the cannon fodder for WWIII.  :shh
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Kara on March 20, 2009, 11:22:09 AM
No ethnic breakdown = fail
Quote
Maria Esparza

:smug
Title: Re: In these tough economic times Americans are making babies at a record pace.
Post by: Brehvolution on March 20, 2009, 11:59:49 AM
 :lol