The best natalist policy: good jobs

The best natalist policy: good jobs

First, the good news. In a recent report on birth rates in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 3.62 million babies born in 2024, up about 1% from the number born in 2023. Now for the bad: even with that tick upwards, the nation’s total fertility rate remains way below “replacement,” the level at which a given generation can replace itself, 2.1 babies per woman. In 2024, the U.S. fertility rate was 1.62. In