Paul Ryan’s recipe for a robust economy: Have more babies
The reasons for delaying family formation are often economic. When those of child-bearing age spend their entire stagnant incomes on rent, debt and health care, the prospect of having a baby recedes into the distance. The effect is most acute for women, who are often least able to afford housing, whose incomes are likely to sink after breaks for childbearing, and whose health risks increase with motherhood. (Maternal mortality is on the rise in the United States, yet the GOP’s proposed — and mercifully failed — health-care reform considered cuts to pregnancy-related benefits.)
