BG3…soon. :)

That’s all kinds of messed up. To not value experience… it feels like all over the world in “advanced societies” we live in so much stress and are pulled in so many directions, flailing, trying to stay afloat in a cutthroat world. No wonder people aren’t having babies.

Here in the US housing is unaffordable. More and more young adults can’t leave home and start building their own lives and creating their own families. Salaries aren’t even remotely keeping up with expenses. Without security why would someone contemplate getting pregnant?

The response of leadership in the US feels like they’re creating a climate of forced pregnancies instead of solving the root cause. Such gross economic inequities as we have here create lives of despair and shut down the dreams of humanity. Those dreams are the fodder for building strong neighborhoods, having children, investing time and money into your community. Instead we have despair so people hide in their shells, protect themselves; even to the point of being willing to harm others.

I remember years ago when Enron and Worldcom collapsed. People who were retired/nearly retired lost a lifetime of investments. They found themselves on the cusp of their elder years and thrust into poverty overnight.

If (when) the stock market fails everyone is going to be in that same boat because all other avenues of saving money other than shoving it in a mattress or burying it in your yard is ultimately tied up in the market. I have to contribute to a 401k and pension plan to get employer contributions. So instead of a safe CD or savings account…my extra money is “playing” the market. I don’t like this and predict it’s going to get really ugly for lots of folks when finance buckles. I’m 10 years out from retirement and on edge just thinking about this. Then again, I know I won’t be alone.