AOC Breaks Down Why Millennials Aren’t Having Kids

As if we needed another reason to show how much our healthcare system is in disarray, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez perfectly summed up one of the biggest reasons why millennials aren’t having children.

The Bronx native responded to a tweet by Washington Post opinion writer Elizabeth Bruening who posted a picture of her medical bill after recently giving birth. The total of her statement — after insurance — shows a whopping $7,809.00.

AOC retweeted Bruenig’s post with the caption: “When people chastise millennials for not having or delaying starting their families after growing up in a recession, here’s one big reason why.”

According to the Pew Research Center, the world’s population is “expected to virtually stop growing by the end of this century, due in large part to falling global fertility rates.”

The data received from the United Nations also shows that by 2100, “the world’s population is projected to reach approximately 10.9 billion, with annual growth of less than 0.1% – a steep decline from the current rate. Between 1950 and today, the world’s population grew between 1% and 2% each year, with the number of people rising from 2.5 billion to more than 7.7 billion.”

Further, an NPR report shows that the U.S. birthrate is at its lowest in 32 years.

When people chastise millennials for not having or delaying starting their families after growing up in a recession, here’s one big reason why: https://t.co/IL0l7bgli5

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 10, 2019

AOC isn’t exaggerating when she states that millennials aren’t having babies because this generation simply cannot afford it. When you take into consideration the mounting college debt, plus the cost of living, and perhaps an unstable job market, having children is just too risky.

A New York Times survey asked 1,858 men and women, ages 20 to 45, why they are waiting to have children. The results show 64 percent said childcare is too expensive, 44 percent said they couldn’t afford to have more children, and 43 percent said they waited because of financial instability.

Some states in the U.S. make having a baby a lot more complicated than others. WalletHub, a personal finance website, released the results that show Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Oklahoma as the most costly states to have a child. The most cost-saving states to give birth is Vermont, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Minnesota.

https://twitter.com/DaveMosher/status/1170415431749910528

The average cost of raising a child to the age of 18 is $230,000. Yes, we can hear your heart racing too. So the next time anyone asks you, “so, when are you having a baby?” respond by saying, “as soon as you agree to pay for it.”