The birth rate in the United States is down and continues to decline further. The Trump administration is apparently considering a proposal to try and change that. Primarily, they are considering a monetary incentive for woman who have children. The question is, however, will it work?
The $5,000 “Baby Bonus” Proposal
One proposal being considered is the introduction of a $5,000 “baby bonus” to be given to every American mother after giving birth. That is to say, she will receive $5000 for each baby she has. President Donald Trump showed support for this idea, stating, “Sounds like a good idea to me.” To be clear, the idea isn’t actually his. It comes from an outside group who submitted the proposal. The Whitehouse is currently fielding several proposals from various groups aiming at increasing the birth rate and/or improving the lives of American families.
White House’s Response
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that the president is committed to implementing policies that uplift American families, creating an environment where all children can safely grow up and achieve the American dream. She also highlighted the president’s actions to support families, including an executive order aimed at increasing access and affordability for in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The Trump administration has demonstrated a significant effort to prioritize the promotion of families and has stressed the need for more babies to be born in the United States. President Trump, known as the “King of IVF,” has previously joked about being the “fertilization president,” highlighting his focus on family-related policies.
Vice President’s Support
Vice President J.D. Vance has also expressed support for encouraging people to have more children, advocating for the expansion of the child tax credit and emphasizing the importance of making it easier for young parents to afford raising children.
“I want more happy children in our country, and I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them. And it is the task of our government to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford to have kids, to bring them into the world and to welcome them as the blessings that we know they are,” Vance said. “We need a culture that celebrates life at all stages, one that recognizes and truly believes that the benchmark of national success is not our GDP number or our stock market but whether people feel that they can raise thriving and healthy families in our country,”
Reactions to the Proposals
Some individuals and pro-natalist groups have shown receptiveness to the proposed policies and have submitted other potential executive orders. Many of the executive order proposals include things such as bestowing a “National Medal of Motherhood” on women who have six children or more. MomsRising CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, however, has expressed opposition to the programs. She has called them coercive and counterproductive. Rowe-Finkbeiner emphasized the need for policies that provide support such as affordable child and elder care, access to maternal health care, and paid family leave to encourage family growth.
Encouraging Policies for Family Formation
So if baby bonuses and medals of honor for having big families isn’t the magic bullet towards an increased birth rate in the United States, what is? Many experts, like Rowe-Finkbeiner, remind us that it’s about having policies in place that protect and support families – mothers and fathers. Many of the policies, such as the baby bonus, are directed at mothers only, ignoring the fact that men being equipped, present, and supported fathers isn’t a massive part of the equation. Beyond that, having policies in place that allow both men and women to be parents as well as in the workforce, without penalty, would be a big step. The following are the primary barriers that make people decide to have few children, if any at all, and the solutions to mitigate those problems.
1. Affordable Childcare
Most families simply can’t afford to have one parent stay at home full time and therefore live on one salary. This means that, before the children are school age, someone needs to be with them while both parents are at work. Even once a child starts school, the work day is longer than the school day, plus there are holidays such as Christmas break, spring break, and summer vacation where parents are often stuck paying thousands of dollars for childcare.
In other countries, putting policies in place for affordable childcare has had great success in improving the birth rate. The town of Nagi-cho in Japan demonstrated remarkable success in doubling its birth rate through extensive family-friendly schemes, including offering baby bonuses, children’s allowances, and most significantly reducing childcare costs. However, larger urban areas in East Asia struggle with limited public childcare availability and high costs, hindering the effectiveness of related government incentives. It is the decrease in childcare costs that seems to be the real ticket winner here.
2. Flexible Work Arrangements
The “grind” work culture of the United States is not family friendly. In a work culture that prizes never taking a day off, never being late, working long hours far past what the role actually pays for, and being responsive to work-related texts and emails in non-working hours, it’s not hard to see why people look at having children as being an impossible task.
Countries such as Sweden have established family-friendly work practices, recognizing the need for flexibility to balance work and family life. By offering part-time work options and promoting a supportive work environment, Sweden has maintained relatively higher fertility rates. Sweden isn’t the only country to make work life more conducive to having a family. Increased access to broadband in Germany has shown a correlation with higher birth rates among highly educated women, attributing this effect to the ability to work from home and spend more time with children. In France, a law was enacted that makes sending work emails and texts after 6pm and when that employee isn’t on the clock, illegal. Laws that protect workers’ rights and freedoms allow people the time to actually have a family life.
3. Gender Equality in Household Responsibilities
Research indicates that increased male involvement in domestic work at home positively impacts fertility rates. Traditionally, women have been expected to do the majority of household and child-raising activities. This expectation has continued long after women were finally allowed to enter the workforce. Unsurprisingly, women currently of childbearing age mostly grew up watching their mothers be run ragged trying to do it all and be harshly criticized for it, no matter what they did. For this reason, many women of the current generation have decided that, unless they have an equal partner, they don’t want to have children.
Countries like Sweden have observed higher fertility rates as a result of heavily subsidized childcare and generous parental leave for both mothers and fathers. These policies have encouraged men to take on more responsibility in childcare and domestic work. This sets the tone that raising children and taking care of a household is both parents’ job, not just the woman’s. It has set a positive precedent for family dynamic and further contributes to increased birth rates.
4. Pre- and Post-Partum Care
In the United States, the cost of having a child ranges from $10,000 to upwards of $30,000. While some women have insurance that covers much of the cost, about 1 in 9 women do not. The reality is that in most developed countries, pregnancy and childbirth are completely free. In many other countries, you also receive free post-partum care and paid maternity leave. In many European and Nordic countries, post-partum planning is part of the process, and mothers and new parents receive care and support long after the baby is born. In Mexico and many parts of Latin America, as well as in China, Japan, Korea, and many European countries, a one-month rest period post partum, that often includes practitioner support, is normal if not mandatory. In Finland, before your baby is born, you can apply for a free box through Finnish social security that provides 63 essential items for your new baby. Even the box it comes in is useful, as it can serve as the baby’s bed.
Meanwhile, in the United States, paid maternity leave is not mandated and most women receive very little time off. Fathers, typically, are expected back in the office the next day. Women and parents risk their health and/or careers to have a child in the United States. In addition to the amount of money they likely had to spend in labour and delivery, pre- and post-partum costs of having a baby, women are all but forced back to work before they or their baby is ready for that, simply because they can’t afford not to. This cost – both actual financial and the potential hit to a parent’s career or job – is a huge deterrent to having children in America.
The Role of Holistic Policies
Recognizing that holistic policies should prioritize the well-being of children and those raising them, it is essential for governments to support individuals in achieving their desired family sizes. While cash handouts may sound appealing, the reality is that the don’t solve the actual problems that parents or potential parents are facing in the United States. An understanding of the social and cultural dynamics influencing family formation is crucial in formulating effective policies that address declining fertility rates without placing undue pressure on individuals. While a baby bonus is easy, it is a band-aid solution that won’t actually encourage people to have children in the long run. What America needs are policies that encourage equity in parenthood, paid parental leave, job protection for new mothers and fathers, affordable child care, and, finally, a safe country where parents can raise their children without fearing for their child’s safety everywhere they go. Address these issues and the birth rate will rise, no baby bonus needed.
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