Tim Carney’s latest book, Family Unfriendly, documents all of the ways in which our laws and culture are discouraging family formation — but the problem may be much deeper.
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Back in December, a viral video series on TikTok celebrated the DINK (dual-income, no kids) lifestyle, glorying in their ability to take European vacations, go crazy with bulk purchases at Costco, and splurge on their pets. At first, I thought it was a joke, though as Federalist Executive Editor Joy Pullmann helped me understand, these unabashedly materialist young American couples were quite serious. They really believed the freedoms they enjoyed sans children were a superior form of life to the supposed drudgery that defines the lives of us hapless parents.
AuthorandAmericanEnterpriseInstituteSeniorFellowTimothyP.Carney,ahappyfatherofsix,doesnotviewchildrenasanobstacletohumanhappiness,butratherthemeansofachievingit,bothforindividualsandsocietyatlarge.Yet,ashearguesquitepersuasivelyinFamilyUnfriendly:HowOurCultureMadeRaisingKidsMuchHarderThanItNeedstoBe,muchofthereasonforournation’sdecliningbirthrateshastodowithvar
