this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2024
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Housing Bubble 2: Return of the Ugly
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You don't have kids because it's too expensive.
I don't have kids because I'm immature, irresponsible, would screw it up like everything else in my life, can't even take care of myself let alone another human, these genes aren't worth passing on, climate change will almost certainly never be taken as seriously as it should be, and it's not like there's anyone that would want to have my kids anyway.
We are not the same.
And also it's too expensive.
I don't have kids because I find fulfillment in life without them. I get to travel, spend time on hobbies, and have a social life. I know you can technically do those things while having kids, but generally not to the same degree.
Also, I think letting our population decline a bit is probably better for our species and our planet.
I have kids, travel, hobby, and have a social life. Introducing kids to new places, ideas, and people has given me a new perspective on them and made these activities more fun.
The biggest waste producers on our planet aren't the areas with the most people. They're the areas with the access to the most money and the least political consequence.
The OpenAI project is a great example of this. Phenomenal consumption of domestic resources - land, minerals, energy, water - at the hands of a few thousand people. If everyone in Brazil stopped existing tomorrow, Sam Altman would still be pumping out huge plumes of CO2 and sucking up hectares of water to cool his data centers.
Similarly, the assorted wars in Europe and the Middle East - Russia/Ukraine, Israel's genocide in Palestine, the US/Afghanistan and US/Iraq missions - have been resource hogs that vastly outstripped anything a comparable number of civilians would have consumed.
Idk what the "correct" number of humans is, but the notion that we can end the ecological degradation if the population gets cut in half really underweight the biggest drivers of the harm.
I grew up in a family with over a dozen siblings.
I didn't have space to myself nor a quiet Saturday morning until I was 21 years old, and I did a shit-ton of parenting without my consent.
Kids suck. Childrearing sucks. My dogs are nicer, cleaner, more loving, and cuter than human children. You couldn't pay men enough to give up my quiet, clean condo on a Saturday morning.
Also it's too expensive.