To the editor: Marisa Gerber's article on income and motherhood deserves praise. However, what is largely overlooked is the abject failure of the American political elite to protect the standard of living of the country's middle class.
Economic insecurity corrodes everyone except the very rich. Comfortable housing commands stratospheric prices, as do decent healthcare, higher education, and child care. The purchasing power of workers has decreased considerably over the past four decades, leading to longer hours of work.
Many younger adults are also weighing the morality of bringing children into a world devastated by global warming.
The Pew study finding mentioned in the article that most childless adults “simply don't want” to have children should not surprise competent social scientists: We cannot expect respondents to take up our mandate to demystify thinking and behavior. humans. I suspect that many of those surveyed felt personally inadequate and therefore reluctant to confront the issue head-on.
When these people realize that they are victims of our country's pay-to-play politics and the resulting polarization of wealth, only then will they join the movement for genuine reform of our political economy.
Sam Coleman, Huntington Beach
The writer, a professor of Asian Studies at Cal State Long Beach, is the author of the book “Family Planning in Japanese Society.”
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To the editor: Your article about adults who decide to give up parenthood was terribly depressing. Unless parts of his story are omitted, the logic of the people quoted in his article highlights our growing attachment to comfort and disinclination to sacrifice.
We humans do difficult things. Family life is both joyful and hard, but it is the way we have cared for, tolerated, and connected with each other since the beginning of time.
There is no ideal family size, whether one child or many, and there is no requirement that children play eight different sports and play four musical instruments.
But if, as a society, enough people decide that family life is not for them, we will all experience great loss.
Karen Cuni Tang, Torrance
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To the editor: I was happy to see a featured article that gave a voice to those who choose not to have children.
However, the decline in birth rates was described as a negative trend due to economic concerns. Why not cite scientists or environmentalists who have different concerns or see the positive side of this complex situation?
The title of this 2022 study published in the journal Biological Conservation says it all: “Overpopulation is a major cause of biodiversity loss and smaller human populations are needed to preserve what remains.”
In a March 2023 article in Scientific American, Harvard professor Naomi Oreskes approvingly quotes the Royal Society: “More people” have meant that more and more natural habitat is used for agriculture, mining, industrial infrastructure, and urban areas'. ”
In a 2013 interview, David Attenborough said, “All of our environmental problems become easier to solve with fewer people, and harder (and ultimately impossible) to solve with more and more people.”
Zan Dubin, Santa Monica
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To the editor: I enjoyed the article about millennials not having children. As a baby boomer, I've suffered the slings and arrows of later generations complaining about how we ruined the world, so it's good to hear from the next few people.
It's a good thing millennials have decided to abandon parenthood. Raising children requires total commitment of oneself, and their concentration leaves little room for anything but them.
So enjoy swimming with dolphins, jumping out of planes and posing with the bronze Fonz, as the couple you profile has done. She won't worry about kids vomiting on your expensive carpet, peeing on your furniture, or waking you up at night.
But you will miss seeing the winning goal, the diploma obtained, a marriage and an endless list of moments that make the effort of being a parent worth it.
Theodore Furlow, Medford, Oregon.
