Last night, my boyfriend and I were restless. We were up late, yet another night spent talking and dreaming about our future together. We naturally rolled around to the subject of having children one day. My boyfriend remarked that he wants at least two biological children, and is open to adopting more.
While I wholeheartedly wanted to exclaim my agreement, that I wanted to become a mother one day, and that I could not wait until the day that I could surprise my children with a trip to Disney, or witness their faces the first time the see "The incredibles" (God I love that movie).
But I couldn't. I had to tell him that I did not want children unless I was rich. I saw the disappointment on his face, and immediately began to explain myself:
I don't want children unless I am rich because I am scared that I will not be able to provide for them (even working my ass off) while living in America.
20 years ago, in 1996, we would have never imagined that America would turn out like this. Yes, there were economists that predicted the crumbling and inevitable downfall of our capitalist system, but the masses were clueless. We still believed that you could never buy enough. College was affordable, gas was affordable, real groceries -I'm talking fresh fruit, veggies, and meats-were much more affordable. Life was just more affordable in general. (Check out this website, It provides the average prices of hundreds of items over the years)
Yes, there were still homeless people, but the according to the United States Census, the poverty rate was almost 3 points higher!
With all of this knowledge, It has become impossible for me to rationally come to conclusion that my children will be okay here in 20 years, because with the way things are going, I wont even be okay here in 20 years. There has to be a drastic change in the American lifestyle to turn this mess around, and I just don't see that happening. America can not afford for college to get any more expensive, or the middle class will not be able to afford it. At the rate we are going, I will not be able to send my children to college in 20-25 years. I will not even be able to go on vacations with my children to Disney; The price of an adult single day Disney ticket rose from $34 in 1996 to $124 in 2016. What will be the price in 2026?
Some may read this and think I'm incredibly selfish and pretentious. But it's not greed that drives my decision to hold off on children. I simply refuse to bring children into the world, unless I am positive that I can provide them with an even better childhood and life than I had.
