That’s $38 billion (USD) annually. While it sounds like a lot, it actually isn’t much relative to the severity of their situation. Politicians would rather have small failures over larger ones… “This will bring our country’s spending per child on families to the level of Sweden,” said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. In other words, socialism is …
Category Archives: Incentives
Incentives Do Not Fix Fertility Rate Decline
In this well-researched and well-written article at Reason magazine, the primary focus is on what has caused the fertility decline. It pinpoints no single factor, and says that all of the known factors combined still do not explain the dramatic drops in children being born. It suggests that everything matters, plus there may be lag …
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Japan: Drink More Alcohol
One of the reasons given is that they want more revenue from liquor tax, because in 2020 it declined by 10% ($813M). However, considering that it is a “sin tax”, intended to moderate consumption, that is hard to accept. The real reason is what everyone knows, young people are more likely to hook up if …
Desperation in China: Loans Offered
Jilin in northeast China is offering married couples bank loans of up to 200,000 yuan ($31,400) if they have kids, joining other provinces in the roll-out of financial incentives to overcome a declining population. Certain small businesses set up by couples with two or three children will also enjoy exemptions and cuts in value-added taxes, …