Overcrowded Urban Areas: Problems & Prospects

[EnolaGaia]

... I suspect this figure is inflated by costing the time parents put in at some hourly rate, which simply isn't a proper representation of the true costs to parents, which are a lot lower.

Nope ... There are, of course, multiple reports and news items on the subject. The most consistently cited basis for costs is the periodic Department of Agriculture survey of child-rearing costs. This survey (last formally published in 2017 for children born in 2015) is based solely on projected expenses and doesn't include any cost-accounting for parents' time or labor.

As of the time of the 2017 report issuance the USDA's (nationwide) average total cost of having and raising a child up to age 18 was $233,610. According to an online inflation calculator this overall average translates to $273,285 in 2022 dollars.

 

[charliebrown]

I assume the British health care system takes care of children’s health which is a big expense in the U.S. for parents.

 

[Min Bannister]

If that was true in the UK, we'd have to have earned a lot more money...I suspect this figure is inflated by costing the time parents put in at some hourly rate, which simply isn't a proper representation of the true costs to parents, which are a lot lower.

It is not really a like for like comparison though. The median wage in the US is 68,000 dollars (it varies a lot by state) and from what I have gathered from listening to a few podcasts, 45,000 dollars is considered a low wage and a struggle to get by on. This is about £37, 000 - a princely sum. But as @charliebrown says, most of this is probably taken up with healthcare costs and other stuff we don't have to think about.

https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/average-american-income/

 

[Coal]

Nope ... There are, of course, multiple reports and news items on the subject. The most consistently cited basis for costs is the periodic Department of Agriculture survey of child-rearing costs. This survey (last formally published in 2017 for children born in 2015) is based solely on projected expenses and doesn't include any cost-accounting for parents' time or labor.

As of the time of the 2017 report issuance the USDA's (nationwide) average total cost of having and raising a child up to age 18 was $233,610. According to an online inflation calculator this overall average translates to $273,285 in 2022 dollars.

That still seems quite a big number. Hm.

(@Min Bannister)

Median household disposable income in the UK was £31,400 for 2021
The total cost for a couple of raising a child to the age of 18 now stands at £160,692 (includes housing and childcare)

18 x £31,400 = £565,200 (median average household disposable income over this period)

Two children to 18 cost £325,384

Leaving some £240,200 to support two adults for 18 years. That seems feasible. Just. (Almost half of that will go for rent/mortgage)

This said, half of the population (more or less) are under that median income mark, many of whom raise decent young adults on what would be less than that.

 

[Min Bannister]

Two children to 18 cost £325,384

Leaving some £240,200 to support two adults for 18 years. That seems feasible. Just. (Almost half of that will go for rent/mortgage)

This said, half of the population (more or less) are under that median income mark, many of whom raise decent young adults on what would be less than that.

I have a suspicion that the child raising costs are inflated to unreasonable proportions by the same people who inflate the "Median wage" to unreasonable proportions. I had a look on the government website and found it very confusing. They switch between "individual" and "household" wages as if they are the same thing. It turns out from the description lower down, the data is "equivalised" in some way to take account that households may have single or multiple adult wage earners. A household with two wage earners would need a higher income than a household with one to have the same standard of living but it doesn't need twice the income. The data collected shows trends over many years rather than an accurate picture of what people are actually earning. So I don't know how much we can really take at face value.

At least it may explain why the oft quoted figure of the median wage being £31,400 AFTER tax seems so insanely high..

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...leincomeandinequality/financialyearending2021

 

[Coal]

I have a suspicion that the child raising costs are inflated to unreasonable proportions by the same people who inflate the "Median wage" to unreasonable proportions. I had a look on the government website and found it very confusing. They switch between "individual" and "household" wages as if they are the same thing. It turns out from the description lower down, the data is "equivalised" in some way to take account that households may have single or multiple adult wage earners. A household with two wage earners would need a higher income than a household with one to have the same standard of living but it doesn't need twice the income. The data collected shows trends over many years rather than an accurate picture of what people are actually earning. So I don't know how much we can really take at face value.

At least it may explain why the oft quoted figure of the median wage being £31,400 AFTER tax seems so insanely high..

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...leincomeandinequality/financialyearending2021

Agreed, it's a bit inconsistent.

That said, a median wage (as opposed to disposable income) is a lot lower than the average wage, which is the figure usually used to justify pay rises. Amongst my middleclass-in-laws there are those who genuinely think £40k a year is 'not very much'. I enjoy telling them more than half the working population can only dream about those kind of wages. But then I would

 

[charliebrown]

I think it started when the largest producer of the U.S. baby formula producer Abbott had contamination in their products and was shut down.

The U.S. is buying baby formula from other countries to meet the demand.

Baby formula in a few months time is 20% more in cost, which is huge for young parents.

The U.S. inflation rate has been around 9% which is huge.

So taking care of your family is costing the average person in the U.S. around 400 dollars more a month.

Rising a child is costly.

Italy and Japan birth rate is not even replacing themselves.

The birth rate in the U.S. is on the level of WW II which is the lowest ever.