Live Rich, Have Kids

"Don't tell me how many kids I should have. That is my choice and my choice alone!"

Well, as a college brat myself, I don't have kids. So as a single adult I don't have any place to tell you what you should do or not. But if I could tell you that you should have 2.13 kids to get rich--then those who are a poor college brat like me you should listen to me.

I believe we are for the most part all aware of the Baby Boom. After World War II,  there was an explosion of children being born. In just a short eighteen years, there was an increase of 450 million children born throughout the world. Not too long after, many individuals began to fear for their lives about a thought that they truly never considered before. What about overpopulation?

Overpopulation
Did you know that if we accumulated everyone in the whole world per family and gave each an acre to live on (how many of you have an acre now?) EVERYONE will be able to live in the state of Texas. That is all 7.7 billion people throughout the whole world would be able to live on their own acre in one state.

Evidence have stated that by 2045-2055 that the world will reach an overwhelming population number of 9 billion people! But with the current trends of now, this 9 billion people will be the peak amount of human population. In fact by 2065, it is predicted that the whole world will be depopulating. Think of population as the curve below:

Population will come to the peak, but with the fertility rates as they are now we will boomerang back downwards.

Fertility rate
 "How many children a woman has per life time." During the Baby Boom, more babies then ever were born world wide then ever before. However, what was the actual number per family? Records state that in the United States that the fertility rate was that of 3.7? Only 3.7 per woman's life time. Does that sound like an explosive number to you? In essence, the "Baby Boom" wasn't that boomy at all.

2.13 is a magic number when it comes to fertility rates. This number is the perfect balance between overpopulation and under-population. This number is called the called the Replace Fertility Rate. It takes two to tango on child making, and thus having two children will cover the two parents that brought the children in the world. A constant replacement of parent to child. Today, for natives (note native) in the United States we have a fertility rate of 1.8. An unbalanced number. We as native Amercians are depopulating as we speak. For every parent that chooses not to have a child, or 2.13 to be exact, they are doing more than saving money for themselves. In fact they are losing money.

The world changed following World War II. There was a raise of Women's Revolution. The No Fault Divorce act in 1970 sparked a "Divorce Revolution." Sexual Revolution brought to pass being sexual active with whomever was desired, as before sexual activity was supposed to be saved for marriage; this being supported in 1960's in which birth control was approved for the United States along with the raise of Counterculture. Overall, these all could be summed up to Individualism. People identifying themselves as people who could do what they want when they wanted to. In theory, this is not a bad thing. But, it has been blown out of portion in the ways that no one is thinking about anything than themselves and what they want.

How has Individualism and other related revolution ruining money making as of now. It has impeded on Human Capital.

Human Capital could be defined as "knowledge, skills, and abilities people have." Everything we have around us, especially modern economics, is based off human knowledge. Many of these skills are learned in the home. A child raised in a family with two actively engaged parents with siblings learn qualities that are needed in the work force: They learn obligations, relationship respect, responsibilities between their family members, and how to share. Take this all away and it makes a person that sounds like: an irresponsible, selfish, uncommitted, whining brat that doesn't show up to work because they "didn't feel like it." How many of us have a co-worker like that? (And note: this is a generalization. Not every only child falls into this category.) But bring this worker in the work force it leads to an unfulfilling job. How are jobs supposed to be in this condition? Not sure.

In theory, more children actually provides stability and resources in the world. Not having children is destroying our world more so than the people that are on it. With the fall of the fertility rate of 2.13, our world is slowly spiraling down to instability, harder and more work, and overall less happiness--all because we want to focus on ourselves, which should've brought us more happiness, right?

So, do I as a college brat have any right to tell you that you should have 2.13 kids? No, but if you want to make an easier future--then I suggest that you pass the word along.

Live rich, have kids.