The latest viral TikTok trend consists of young married couples bragging about not having kids. They boast about how awesome their lives are as they are not encumbered by children, referring to themselves as “DINKs”—Dual Income, No Kids. The recent interest in this lifestyle reflects potentially changing cultural and economic dynamics in the United States.
According to a 2022 Harris Poll survey, 43% of unmarried American adults reported the desire to get married. However, only three in 10 expressed wanting to have kids. Respondents who wished to remain childfree cited the following factors as reasons for not wanting to reproduce: personal independence (54%), personal financial situation (46%), work-life balance (40%), housing prices (33%), safety (31%), U.S. politics (31%) and climate change (28%).
DINKs have more financial independence without having to outlay a fortune on raising children and get to engage in a flexible lifestyle. They are not burdened with costly expenses associated with starting a family, such as purchasing a larger home or car and spending more for health insurance, child care, groceries, clothes and toys. This cohort doesn’t need to allocate money toward college funds, buying them a car and having boomerang young adults returning home after college.
Instead, with a greater disposable income, the couples can enjoy frequent travel, dining out regularly and attending nightclubs, concerts and sporting events without worrying about getting a babysitter. According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, couples with no children have the highest net worth out of all other family structures. The median net worth of a childfree couple in the U.S. is around $399,000—over $100,000 more than it was in 2019.
Some Americans feel uncomfortable bringing babies into a world that is beset with environmental crises, overpopulation, political turmoil and divisiveness. Others cannot afford to raise children based on their salaries and the high living costs, especially in expensive locations such as New York or California.
The Drawback For The Economy And Job Market
If this trend takes hold and garners more adherents, there is a dangerous downside to the U.S. economy and job market. Plunging U.S. birth rates could adversely impact demographics and lead to fewer people available to work and keep the economy going, causing the gross domestic product to decline. A declining labor force would necessitate increased automation and artificial intelligence to offset human capital.
Fewer people entering the workforce could strain the U.S. Social Security program. An aging population without a continual flow of births puts pressure on entitlement programs, reduces investment capital pools and could cause the healthcare inflation rate to skyrocket from care disparity. U.S. businesses would need to rely heavily on the global workforce to offset domestic declines in working-age population growth. Americans would see lopsided generational income distributions, weighing heavier on elder care.
