Source: NYT > Business
The fertility decline isn't abstract—it's a direct calculation. Prospective parents are comparing mortgage payments (up 40% in many markets since 2020) and childcare costs ($15k-$30k annually depending on region) against stagnant wage growth, and the math forces a binary choice rather than a delay. Fewer young families means collapsing demand for minivans, suburban real estate, and parenting-adjacent products built on the assumption of consistent generational reproduction, while concentrating wealth and consumption patterns among the child-free and already-wealthy.