With the Supreme Court taking on same-sex marriage (or will they-we shall see), marriage traditionalists have been out there touting the old notion that the purpose of marriage is ultimately about procreation.  Old, indeed.  And just no longer true.  Even marriage traditionalists know this is no longer the case.  How did it happen?  I talk about the marriage-procreation bond and its breakdown in The Baby Matrix as part of the discussion on the pronatalist Marriage Assumption. Here is an excerpt: Read more →

Please check out the segment, “Not Having Kids Bad for the Economy?” on the NPR show Tell Me More I was part of this week. Host Michel Martin had read the recent piece by Harry Siegel and Joel Kotkin on thedailybeast, “Where Have All the Babies Gone,” and was interested in talking more about it as well as the childfree choice, which the piece focused on as a less than positive effect on current demographic trends. Here’s a few post show thoughts: Read more →

Charles Kenny at Businessweek.com gives a smart perspective in response to the recent baby bust scares by folks like Jonathan Last and Joel Kotkin- that one negative effect of lower birthrates will be that there will be too many elderly.  The title of his article mirrors his overall assertion: “An Aging Population May Be What the World Needs.”  Read more →

From my previous post here and on Huffpo, the recent ink out there are why we need to really be concerned about falling birthrates got me going! Like Jonathan Last’s piece in the Wall Street Journal online,  “America’s Baby Bust” and his recent flurry in the media, and Joel Kotkin with his Newsweek piece, “Where Have All the Babies Gone.” I am not the only one – Sarah Glynn’s piece on ThinkProgress.org also sets the record straight.  Check it out. Read more →