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Millions of Americans are about to get hit with diaper sticker shock
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/23/business/diaper-costs-families-poverty/index.htmlDiapers are a pricey, essential item for parents. Now, they're getting even more expensive, hurting low-income families already struggling with the pandemic's economic woes.
Disposable diaper prices rose 8.7% during the year ending April 10, according to the latest numbers from NielsenIQ, which tracks point of sale data from retailers. Diaper makers recently said they are planning additional price increases, which may further stretch low-income families' budgets if stores choose to pass on the hikes.
Kimberly-Clark (KMB), the maker of Huggies and Pull-Ups, will increase prices on these products by mid-to-high single-digit percentages in June, while Procter & Gamble (PG)— which manufactures Pampers, Luvs and All Good diapers — will raise prices on such brands in the mid-to-high single digit percentage range in mid-September.
It costs around $80 a month to provide diapers for one child, and one in three American families struggled to afford diapers even before the pandemic, according to Joanne Goldblum, chief executive officer of the National Diaper Bank Network.
Demand for diaper banks has surged during the pandemic. The non-profit group, which has a nationwide network of over 200 diaper banks, reported an 86% increase on average in the number of diapers distributed to children and families during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic figures.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/23/business/diaper-costs-families-poverty/index.html
51 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
I don't think it's right to call them "lazy". Thank you for sharing your experience! 
I very much doubt the price of diapers is going to stop people from having babies. 
unless, of course, I missed the sarcasm. 
Baby-time should be over 
But, OMG, can you just hear the wingers if "one child per couple" was ever brought up????
https://www.euronews.com/2020/02/12/a-low-birth-rate-and-a-rapidly-ageing-population-europe-s-demographic-crisis-explained
Europe's population is getting older. Between now and 2030, most EU countries will see the number of workers over 50 increase to 55% of their overall labour force. The European Commission forecasts that spending on healthcare for older people and pensions (currently 25% of GDP in the EU), will rise 2.3 percentage points by 2040. The demographic challenges vary across the EU. Portugal, Greece, Italy and Spain are among the top-10 countries in the world with the lowest fertility rate.
Uncertainty over poor job prospects, low wage expectations and an inflexible labour market are leading women to have fewer children and to have them later in life. However, getting over-50s into good work has a positive impact on the economy, and can create new markets or expand the so-called silver economy. The silver economy — spending by people aged 50 years old and above — will reach €6.4tn by 2025, and be responsible for nearly 40 per cent of the jobs created (source: EU Commission).
snip
Europe needs many more babies to avert a population disaster (from 2015 and it's only getting worse)
Across Europe birth rates are tumbling. The net effect is a ‘perfect demographic storm’ that will imperil economic growth across the continent
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/23/baby-crisis-europe-brink-depopulation-disaster
When Spanish business consultant Alejandro Macarrón started crunching the numbers behind Spain’s changing demographics, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “I was astonished,” said Macarrón. “We have provinces in Spain where for every baby born, more than two people die. And the ratio is moving closer to one to three.” Spain has one of the lowest fertility rates in the EU, with an average of 1.27 children born for every woman of childbearing age, compared to the EU average of 1.55. Its crippling economic crisis has seen a net exodus of people from the country, as hundreds of thousands of Spaniards and migrants leave in the hope of finding jobs abroad. The result is that, since 2012, Spain’s population has been shrinking.
Record numbers of economic migrants and asylum-seekers are seeking to enter the European Union this summer and are risking their lives in the attempt. The paradox is that as police and security forces battle to keep them at bay, a demographic crisis is unfolding across the continent. Europe desperately needs more young people to run its health services, populate its rural areas and look after its elderly because, increasingly, its societies are no longer self-sustaining.
In Portugal, the population has been shrinking since 2010. For many analysts, the question now is how low can it go, with projections by the National Statistics Institute suggesting Portugal’s population could drop from 10.5 million to 6.3 million by 2060. According to prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho: “We’ve got really serious problems.” In Italy the retired population is soaring, with the proportion of over-65s set to rise from 2.7% last year to 18.8% in 2050. Germany has the lowest birthrate in the world: 8.2 per 1,000 population between 2008 and 2013, according to a recent study by the Hamburg-based world economy institute, the HWWI. The UK’s population reached 64.6 million by mid-2014, a growth of 491,000 over the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics. On average, Britain’s population grew at a faster rate over the last decade than it has done over the last 50 years.
Macarrón is astonished at the reluctance of Spanish authorities to address what he calls a direct threat to economic growth as well as pensions, healthcare and social services. He and a few friends took it upon themselves to begin tackling the issue, starting the non-profit group Demographic Renaissance in 2013, with the aim of raising awareness of the crisis. “Most people think we’re only talking about something that will be a problem in 50 years, but we’re already seeing part of the problem,” he said. “If current numbers hold, every new generation of Spaniards will be 40% smaller than the previous one.” A political knock-on effect is the overwhelming political power of the grey vote. Macarrón points to the crippling austerity measure put in place during the economic crisis: “During the same time frame, expenditures on pensions rose by more than 40%. We’re moving closer to being a gerontocratic society – it’s a government of the old.”
snip
Emerging Europe’s attempts to counter depopulation are failing
https://emerging-europe.com/news/emerging-europes-attempts-to-counter-depopulation-are-failing/
It is no secret that Central and Eastern Europe is facing a depopulation crisis. Recent studies by the UN and scientific research groups, such as this Lancet study, have placed forecasts for the region’s depopulation at anywhere between 50 and 70 per cent by 2100, making it one of the most quickly shrinking regions in the world. According to the UN’s statistics, over the next 10 years Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania are all among the top 10 most rapidly declining countries in the world, with rest of the region not far behind.
This scale of depopulation is something that no country wants. A shrinking and ageing demographic can create strains on healthcare and social support systems, while restricting the competitiveness and longevity of the labour market. This intrinsic relationship between population make-up and economic strength further influences geopolitical power, creating a large scale feedback loop. Ultimately, this can disenfranchise youth – both economically and politically – amplifying emigration. Hundred of thousands of emerging Europe’s young people have already made their way west in search of better economic opportunities.
The region is not oblivious to this silent and increasing threat. A poll conducted in Ukraine last year saw 55 per cent name mass migration as the country’s greatest challenge, which is a considerably telling statistic considering that the country is effectively at war with Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky was elected partly on a pledge to reverse the brain drain, and like many other governments in the region, recognises addressing the issue as a top priority, with concerns over low fertility, emigration, an ageing population and the subsequent strains this can create on social security networks and infrastructure.
In an effort to overcome what, at this point appears almost inevitable, many of the region’s governments – particularly those of a more nationalistic and right-wing bent – are coming up with policies focused on raising the fertility rate. However, this push to establish what some analysts have dubbed “baby factories” is not the answer. In some cases, these policies may even be making the situation worse.
snip
Analysis: COVID-19 worsens Europe's inequalities in yet another way - the fertility gap
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-births-analysis-idUSKBN28B3XA
LISBON/ROME (Reuters) - “It’s time to become a mum,” was the push-notification hundreds of Portuguese women received on their cell phones last month. The text, sent by a private hospital in Lisbon trying to drum up clients for its maternity unit, caused outrage on social media, with some women saying that the middle of a pandemic and recession is the worst possible time to have a baby.
Evidence suggests the coronavirus is deterring would-be parents from conceiving in most of Europe, but especially in the southern countries - from Italy to Greece - where safety nets are weakest and the birth rate was already in strong decline. In the year 2000, there were 120,000 births in Portugal. Last year there were 86,600, a drop of 39%. The fall has been steepest following deep recessions such as the current one triggered by COVID-19.
As well as the emotional challenges now for couples wanting children, in the long run there will also be economic challenges for countries that could face years of struggle to pull themselves out of the mire. Fewer births means fewer and older workers. This will eventually be a drag on economic output and a strain on public pension schemes and welfare states, widening the gap between the richer north of Europe and the poorer south.
“You see stories in the media and elsewhere about people making the most of the lockdown to make babies, but that is the opposite of rational behaviour,” says Vanessa Cunha, a specialist in fertility, gender and family issues at University of Lisbon’s ICS. “The pandemic will have a big negative impact.”
snip
Europe's population is getting older. Between now and 2030, most EU countries will see the number of workers over 50 increase to 55% of their overall labour force. The European Commission forecasts that spending on healthcare for older people and pensions (currently 25% of GDP in the EU), will rise 2.3 percentage points by 2040. The demographic challenges vary across the EU. Portugal, Greece, Italy and Spain are among the top-10 countries in the world with the lowest fertility rate.
Uncertainty over poor job prospects, low wage expectations and an inflexible labour market are leading women to have fewer children and to have them later in life. However, getting over-50s into good work has a positive impact on the economy, and can create new markets or expand the so-called silver economy. The silver economy — spending by people aged 50 years old and above — will reach €6.4tn by 2025, and be responsible for nearly 40 per cent of the jobs created (source: EU Commission).
snip
Europe needs many more babies to avert a population disaster (from 2015 and it's only getting worse)
Across Europe birth rates are tumbling. The net effect is a ‘perfect demographic storm’ that will imperil economic growth across the continent
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/23/baby-crisis-europe-brink-depopulation-disaster
When Spanish business consultant Alejandro Macarrón started crunching the numbers behind Spain’s changing demographics, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “I was astonished,” said Macarrón. “We have provinces in Spain where for every baby born, more than two people die. And the ratio is moving closer to one to three.” Spain has one of the lowest fertility rates in the EU, with an average of 1.27 children born for every woman of childbearing age, compared to the EU average of 1.55. Its crippling economic crisis has seen a net exodus of people from the country, as hundreds of thousands of Spaniards and migrants leave in the hope of finding jobs abroad. The result is that, since 2012, Spain’s population has been shrinking.
Record numbers of economic migrants and asylum-seekers are seeking to enter the European Union this summer and are risking their lives in the attempt. The paradox is that as police and security forces battle to keep them at bay, a demographic crisis is unfolding across the continent. Europe desperately needs more young people to run its health services, populate its rural areas and look after its elderly because, increasingly, its societies are no longer self-sustaining.
In Portugal, the population has been shrinking since 2010. For many analysts, the question now is how low can it go, with projections by the National Statistics Institute suggesting Portugal’s population could drop from 10.5 million to 6.3 million by 2060. According to prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho: “We’ve got really serious problems.” In Italy the retired population is soaring, with the proportion of over-65s set to rise from 2.7% last year to 18.8% in 2050. Germany has the lowest birthrate in the world: 8.2 per 1,000 population between 2008 and 2013, according to a recent study by the Hamburg-based world economy institute, the HWWI. The UK’s population reached 64.6 million by mid-2014, a growth of 491,000 over the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics. On average, Britain’s population grew at a faster rate over the last decade than it has done over the last 50 years.
Macarrón is astonished at the reluctance of Spanish authorities to address what he calls a direct threat to economic growth as well as pensions, healthcare and social services. He and a few friends took it upon themselves to begin tackling the issue, starting the non-profit group Demographic Renaissance in 2013, with the aim of raising awareness of the crisis. “Most people think we’re only talking about something that will be a problem in 50 years, but we’re already seeing part of the problem,” he said. “If current numbers hold, every new generation of Spaniards will be 40% smaller than the previous one.” A political knock-on effect is the overwhelming political power of the grey vote. Macarrón points to the crippling austerity measure put in place during the economic crisis: “During the same time frame, expenditures on pensions rose by more than 40%. We’re moving closer to being a gerontocratic society – it’s a government of the old.”
snip
Emerging Europe’s attempts to counter depopulation are failing
https://emerging-europe.com/news/emerging-europes-attempts-to-counter-depopulation-are-failing/
It is no secret that Central and Eastern Europe is facing a depopulation crisis. Recent studies by the UN and scientific research groups, such as this Lancet study, have placed forecasts for the region’s depopulation at anywhere between 50 and 70 per cent by 2100, making it one of the most quickly shrinking regions in the world. According to the UN’s statistics, over the next 10 years Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania are all among the top 10 most rapidly declining countries in the world, with rest of the region not far behind.
This scale of depopulation is something that no country wants. A shrinking and ageing demographic can create strains on healthcare and social support systems, while restricting the competitiveness and longevity of the labour market. This intrinsic relationship between population make-up and economic strength further influences geopolitical power, creating a large scale feedback loop. Ultimately, this can disenfranchise youth – both economically and politically – amplifying emigration. Hundred of thousands of emerging Europe’s young people have already made their way west in search of better economic opportunities.
The region is not oblivious to this silent and increasing threat. A poll conducted in Ukraine last year saw 55 per cent name mass migration as the country’s greatest challenge, which is a considerably telling statistic considering that the country is effectively at war with Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky was elected partly on a pledge to reverse the brain drain, and like many other governments in the region, recognises addressing the issue as a top priority, with concerns over low fertility, emigration, an ageing population and the subsequent strains this can create on social security networks and infrastructure.
In an effort to overcome what, at this point appears almost inevitable, many of the region’s governments – particularly those of a more nationalistic and right-wing bent – are coming up with policies focused on raising the fertility rate. However, this push to establish what some analysts have dubbed “baby factories” is not the answer. In some cases, these policies may even be making the situation worse.
snip
Analysis: COVID-19 worsens Europe's inequalities in yet another way - the fertility gap
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-births-analysis-idUSKBN28B3XA
LISBON/ROME (Reuters) - “It’s time to become a mum,” was the push-notification hundreds of Portuguese women received on their cell phones last month. The text, sent by a private hospital in Lisbon trying to drum up clients for its maternity unit, caused outrage on social media, with some women saying that the middle of a pandemic and recession is the worst possible time to have a baby.
Evidence suggests the coronavirus is deterring would-be parents from conceiving in most of Europe, but especially in the southern countries - from Italy to Greece - where safety nets are weakest and the birth rate was already in strong decline. In the year 2000, there were 120,000 births in Portugal. Last year there were 86,600, a drop of 39%. The fall has been steepest following deep recessions such as the current one triggered by COVID-19.
As well as the emotional challenges now for couples wanting children, in the long run there will also be economic challenges for countries that could face years of struggle to pull themselves out of the mire. Fewer births means fewer and older workers. This will eventually be a drag on economic output and a strain on public pension schemes and welfare states, widening the gap between the richer north of Europe and the poorer south.
“You see stories in the media and elsewhere about people making the most of the lockdown to make babies, but that is the opposite of rational behaviour,” says Vanessa Cunha, a specialist in fertility, gender and family issues at University of Lisbon’s ICS. “The pandemic will have a big negative impact.”
snip
Don’t have children.
Soylent Green.
but the disposables of long ago were completely unacceptable to us and we never considered using anything but wonderfully soft, fluffy cloth for our babies.
