Is our birth rate, which is well below the level needed to maintain the size of our population a problem? And if it is a problem, what do we do about it?
A lower birth rate results in a higher proportion of the population dependant on the taxes paid by those working – a greater proportion of the taxes collected being for the benefit of the elderly.
For us to determine whether having a low birth rate is problematic, requires us to understand what the future holds. Given the rapid development of Ai and humanoid robotics, the future could well be very different to the past. Vast numbers of people could be unemployed or underemployed. So, perhaps it is in our interests to reduce the size of our population.
On the other hand, if it is in our interests to sustain our population size do we create conditions conducive to couples starting families or do we just take in more young immigrants? The latter will no doubt result in demographic replacement. Is that what we want?
If we want to increase the birth rate, we need to understand and deal with the cause of our current birth rate. What dissuades people from having children? A high cost of living is a cause – people feel they cannot afford kids. The high cost of homes is another – not being able to have the stability and confidence to create a home for a family. A third is the recognition by both prospective parents that they will need to continue working -leaving others to care for and effectively raise their children. This puts significantly more stress on the mother – having to both work and attend to children.
What will Classic Liberals Australia’s policies do? By significantly cutting taxes, couples will retain more of their income. By significantly reducing immigration levels, a Classic Liberals Australia government will significantly reduce the demand for housing, thereby reducing the price of residential properties. By essentially eliminating inflation, the buying power of their money won’t drop. Classic Liberals Australia will also encourage the development of more family friendly apartments (low and mid-rise), upgrade nearby parks and provide financial incentives for large employers to offer professionally run childcare for their staff’s children – all of which should ease the burden on parents.
A Classic Liberals Australia government will also consider providing sport and public transport vouchers for school age children. The former (sport vouchers) for health reasons and the latter to get vehicles off the road, and both to reduce the cost of raising children. Also, by eliminating property transfer (stamp) duties, those whose children have left home will be able to sell up and move into Regional Australia or the outer suburbs without incurring huge taxes. This will free up housing stock near work and schools for young families.