HeyJaredThe Persistent Ruminator
I write about all manner of things which interest me. This mostly focuses on debates about the effects of and on family formation and the creation of new human life!
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 11
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- Sep 19, 2026
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- Jul 7, 2026
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47 grand for a second child?! (opens the original)
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EDIT: we initially interpreted ’s post to mean that he had calculated the figures himself. We’ve now been informed that he took the figures from a blog post on the Czech official statistics agency’s online magazine. We still wonder what assumptions were made and/or data used for the estimates, as they cannot be calculated from publicly available data without additional assumptions. The following details the workings we used to construct our own estimates, which suggest that progression to having
Female literacy is not the big cause of fertility declines (opens the original)
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says that “Mom is working for Moloch”. Maybe she is, maybe she isn’t—go read the piece and see what you think.But he also says that fertility decline is caused by female literacy. Well… that’s not true.Full disclaimer: The man behind Bennett’s Phylactery organised Natal Conference in 2023 and 2025. I went to NatalCon 2025 (and met there among others). So we owe him the fact that he has done a huge amount of work making this a topic of conversation.<
Which way, Western parent? (opens the original)
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Recently a post did pretty well on Substack, making the case that we have reached an unprecedented period of chosen parenthood. The piece claims people simply bred like animals and only recently have we begun to unlock parenthood as a choice, which brings certain challenges as well as benefits. However this is simply not true. In this piece I will show:that the description of the past which lays out is ahistorical;that she is nonetheless correct that we have moved into a world in which following
JD Vance is right about the pitfalls of the US having a reserve currency, but he’s wrong about the solution. (opens the original)
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Speaking recently at American Moment, Vance declared that it was a bad thing for the US to hold the world’s reserve currency. He said this position had been used to borrow money and boost consumption, and that Americans have been living beyond their means. And he’s right, but the solution lies in how a government uses a reserve currency, not in getting rid of it.The dollar is the world’s reserve currency to the extent that international business wants to hold dollars for its transactions. So, wh
The ways in which parents self-sabotage (opens the original)
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Recently, commentator claimed that we live in a non-natal culture. As people increasingly delay parenthood—and as many end up childless—they find themselves unable to relate to their colleagues with children.And I agree with her completely! There is a non-natal culture! It is a huge problem!But I also worry that this is a form of commentary which feeds a pernicious attitude towards parenting: one in which people (particularly those without direct experience) increasingly feel that parenthood is
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