This week’s podcast is also about the fertility crisis, featuring another returning guest, demographer Lyman Stone.
We explore the long-term consequences: aging societies, loss of dynamism, military vulnerabilities, and whether the United States could emerge as demographic "last man standing" in a world of collapsing birth rates. The conversation covers housing affordability, young men's declining economic prospects, marriage penalties in public policy, ineffective pronatalist interventions, and why cash incentives do work—but at a steep price. Stone also critiques "billionaire baby fetishes," calls for fixing marriage disincentives, and highlights practical ideas like family-friendly airports and better child tax credit design.
