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lame54

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51. Elbow room

Reply to LAS14 (Original post)

Fri May 30, 2025, 01:26 PM

Friday

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What will happen if(when?) the birthrate drops dramatically? [View all] LAS14 Thursday OP

Isn't that why Trump and co. want to pay women to have babies? ananda Thursday #1

Yes, but if you read the interview, you see that it's a real problem. nt LAS14 Thursday #5

I do see that. ananda Thursday #15

No, it isn't. Why are you falling for right-wing bullshit? valleyrogue Thursday #24

Douthat is NYT's token republican right winger. defacto7 Friday #79

I can't get into the article. Why is it a problem? yardwork Saturday #93

Pay white women to have babies. White women. mucholderthandirt Friday #74

Well, I'd appreciate it if they'd pay me for giving birth to twins Crunchy Frog Friday #78

That's an interesting take. ananda Saturday #105

Only white women. They want to keep whites as the majority. kerry-is-my-prez Saturday #100

Exactly! ananda Saturday #104

The Earth might breathe a sigh of relief? flvegan Thursday #2

Right. The earth is way too overpopulated now. raccoon Thursday #6

The earth might, but if you read the interview, you'll get the idea that humanity might not. nt LAS14 Thursday #7

i'm cool with that...if the other species get to survive. ret5hd Friday #26

We're really going to go full Handmaids Tale on DU behind forced-birther Douthat's column? Prairie Gates Thursday #3

People can't afford to have children pcdb Thursday #17

Why is that scary? LearnedHand Thursday #4

Too little population to support civilization. Read the article. nt LAS14 Thursday #8

So, when did human civilization first begin, Crunchy Frog Friday #29

Long time ago and when there wasn't a policy system of younger people supporting older people uponit7771 Friday #31

The issue is our economy is built around growth EdmondDantes_ Friday #33

Yes, it's time to begin seriously thinking about new economic models. Crunchy Frog Friday #36

This is incompatible with liberalism. Self Esteem Friday #41

Again, that's not a sustainable model EdmondDantes_ Friday #55

Nope. Self Esteem Friday #56

The Earth is not "just fine". NickB79 Friday #71

Sure it is. Self Esteem Friday #73

I'll probably get thrown out of here for this, but, Conjuay Saturday #89

If you want to support the social safety yet - yes that's the only answer. Self Esteem Saturday #99

So making ever greater quantities of junk Crunchy Frog Friday #75

You're making an argument that isn't being made. Self Esteem Saturday #101

You accuse me of throwing out meaningless strawmen, then throw in meaningless stories about US cities. Crunchy Frog Sunday #107

Incorrect Self Esteem Sunday #114

TLDR, putting you on ignore now. Crunchy Frog Sunday #115

lmao...slink away. Self Esteem Sunday #116

No, it is not. RandomNumbers Saturday #88

Overpopulation is not the issue. Self Esteem Saturday #103

Capitalism also demands endless growth Retrograde Friday #53

Civilization can maintain. The Plague proved that. haele Friday #70

More like too much population that can't be supported on the limited resources this planet has. mwmisses4289 Friday #58

The "survival of the planet"? The Earth is not "alive" but has living things on it that can die. elocs Saturday #83

Normally when people say "survival of the planet" RandomNumbers Saturday #96

I'll take the truth & honesty over rhetorical shorthand any day. elocs Saturday #97

You're calling someone "dishonest" RandomNumbers Saturday #98

I was asking why you said the falling birthrate was scary, not what the article said LearnedHand Thursday #10

Not enough young working folks to support an aging population.... Happy Hoosier Friday #46

Yes to your last sentence RandomNumbers Saturday #86

Ross Douthat?? A right wing hack. madinmaryland Thursday #9

I don't know RJ-MacReady Thursday #11

Could you explain a little more? nt LAS14 Thursday #12

Not really RJ-MacReady Friday #39

Douthat is not a scientist, anthropologist, statistician, or sociologist. There is no reason to take what he says WhiskeyGrinder Thursday #13

He was interviewing a person who had studied this issue extensively. nt LAS14 Thursday #14

Ha, that's on me, for drinking on a Thursday night. What do you find scary about it all? WhiskeyGrinder Thursday #16

Here's a fairly recent study from The Lancet TheProle Thursday #18

doesnt the workforce make things for ppl? wont fewer ppl need fewer products? mopinko Thursday #21

need vs want Retrograde Friday #57

since 60% of americans mopinko Friday #59

LOL. AI is going to make all of us obsolete anyway. The last thing we need is more people to Scrivener7 Friday #37

Handmaids. milestogo Thursday #19

The article says the birth rate hasn't declined as much with muslims questionseverything Thursday #20

Disney parks and eating out will be a helluva lot more enjoyable. BannonsLiver Thursday #22

LOL!!!!! valleyrogue Thursday #23

Alice Evans appears to be a lunatic (not to mention an idiot as well) Wiz Imp Friday #25

No, there are some who agree with her. Don't ask me who, because I'm not going to go seek Scrivener7 Friday #38

Governments around the world are trying to find ways to replace their populations. nt LAS14 Friday #48

That sounds extremely dangerous. MorbidButterflyTat Friday #67

Well, we're not. We're imprisoning and deporting immigrants. yardwork Saturday #94

If you keep going backwards jumping 1000 years, the world was always surviving with fewer people and if the RoeVWade Friday #27

I think Elon talks about it quite a bit Crunchy Frog Friday #28

Not sure when we reached 1 billion, but we reached 4 billion around 1980, and in just the following Cloudhopper Friday #30

The world population reached one billion in the early years of the 1800s. Crunchy Frog Friday #35

obviously there was no innovation and no economic growth DBoon Friday #54

Automation will fill in where humans can't uponit7771 Friday #32

Meh. When I was born the population of the USA was about 180 million. Today it's twice that. Scrivener7 Friday #34

The thing of it is, more women are not going for men at all. valleyrogue Friday #61

Yes. Because for the first time in history, they don't have to. That's a good thing. Scrivener7 Friday #62

I think pro-natalism is the wrong path. Oneironaut Friday #40

Kudos for taking the question seriously and proposing a path forward. nt LAS14 Friday #49

Going with, appreciate MORE who is here and not act like just churning out workers? Brainfodder Friday #42

I only scanned the article, but... LudwigPastorius Friday #43

I see that a lot of people assume that bringing attention to a problem is the same thing... LAS14 Friday #44

what problem though? RJ-MacReady Friday #45

Did you read the article? nt LAS14 Friday #47

Yes I did RJ-MacReady Friday #52

This is DU where there is no requirement to actually read an article to respond to it elocs Saturday #84

Endless population growth is a problem ITAL Friday #50

Thanks for this. For acknowledging a problem and not leaping onto the... LAS14 Friday #64

Elbow room lame54 Friday #51

A much saner view of the topic which correctly points out that it is nothing remotely to fear. Wiz Imp Friday #60

Interesting points. Thanks. nt LAS14 Friday #65

+1 leftstreet Friday #66

Make the old people take care of the babies, Crunchy Frog Friday #80

Human population decline is a very good thing for the biosphere Mysterian Saturday #90

So women are supposed to get pregnant chowmama Friday #63

The interview did not propose a solution. It simply described... LAS14 Sunday #113

Manufacturing fear MorbidButterflyTat Friday #68

Climate change is expected to kill 10's, maybe 100's of millions Kaleva Friday #69

Food insecurity (starvation) and declining health due to Mango Menace policies will do far worse damage dickthegrouch Friday #72

Could be, could be. nt LAS14 Sunday #112

We allow in more immigrants, that's what we do. viva la Friday #76

Supposedly it already has. Littlered Friday #77

Evolution has no direction. Maybe the survivors will shrink to Hobbit size and learn how to live and let live. Ping Tung Friday #81

We should be so lucky Raine Saturday #82

Same as it ever was ... the rich get richer, the poor suffer RandomNumbers Saturday #85

Thanks for the thoughtful and insightful response!! nt LAS14 Sunday #111

There Are Many Threats to Humanity. A Low Birth Rate Isn't One of Them. RandomNumbers Saturday #87

Thanks for a response that addresses the question, not the personalties. nt LAS14 Sunday #110

Such nonsense. 8 billion people in the world. travelingthrulife Saturday #91

Islam eventually takes over the world madville Saturday #92

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. yardwork Saturday #95

I liked the article, but I don't think it has solutions. gulliver Saturday #102

It absolutely doesn't have solutions. That's why I found it scary. LAS14 Sunday #109

More right-wing bullshit. Aristus Saturday #106

Aha! An answer that addresses the question, not the people articulating it. Thanks. LAS14 Sunday #108