Slate Money – “Having Children is Hard”

Episode Date: May 8, 2021
Host(s): Felix Salmon (B), Stacy Marie Ishmael (A), Emily Peck (C)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the grim realities behind America’s disappointing jobs report, the ongoing crisis of falling birth rates, the interplay with women’s labor force participation, and the complicated economics of having children in the U.S. Additional segments dive into the Bill and Melinda Gates divorce (and its implications for philanthropy), the Facebook Oversight Board’s ruling on Trump, and other business news. Throughout, the hosts blend sharp analysis, humor, and honest reflection.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Disappointing U.S. Jobs Report

Timestamps: 00:28–06:11

• April’s jobs report widely missed expectations: economists predicted 1–2 million new jobs, but only ~250,000 appeared, barely keeping up with population growth.
  • Felix: “I’m just going to come out and say that the jobs report we had on Friday morning was the biggest miss in the history of the jobs report.” (01:35)
• Bright spot: Leisure and hospitality hiring surged, a sector previously wracked by pandemic woes.
• Labor market mismatch:
  • Emily: “Workers are part of their own little supply chain… Perhaps it’s going to take a bit longer for workers to get settled back into jobs because things have shifted.” (02:58)
• Mothers hit hardest:
  • Emily: “Single women without young children are increasing in employment… but mothers with young children are still stagnating, and it doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out why. Schools… are still in hybrid mode…you can’t rely on childcare.” (03:29)
  • COVID-19 disruptions, lack of stable childcare/school, and unsupportive policies keep mothers home.
• Long-term worries: The longer someone is out of the workforce, the harder it is to return, especially for women returning post-pandemic.

2. Declining Birth Rates and the Difficulty of Having Children

Timestamps: 06:11–15:14

• Fertility rates:
  • 2020 saw the sixth straight year of U.S. birth rate decline—down 4% from 2019.
  • Felix: “Birth rates only go down and never go up, right?” (06:35)
  • The trend is tied to wealth, education, and women’s independence; even countries with strong social safety nets haven’t reversed this decline.
  • Emily: “Having children is really hard. And not having children has become increasingly easier… as women gain equality, they’re gonna be less likely to have children… I don’t know what you do about that, exactly.” (09:26)
• Socio-political context:
  • Anti-immigrant and anti-safety-net rhetoric in the U.S. complicates solutions.
  • Declining birthrates intersect with issues of race, nationalism, and fears among certain groups about demographic shifts.
    • Stacy Marie: “There’s also a reverse challenge, which is… all these brown people come to the U.S. and they’re all having kids. And then you get into… white nationalist rhetoric…” (11:11)
  • Pop culture references (Handmaid’s Tale, Children of Men) illustrate anxieties about a baby-less, futureless world.
• Quality of Life Impacts:
  • Declining populations can make towns and cities less vibrant, close schools, and lead to infrastructure decay—a concern for social cohesion and dynamism.
    • Emily: “It does seem like kind of a bummer… It doesn’t feel like a vibrant economy.” (14:11)

3. The Bill and Melinda Gates Divorce & Philanthropy

Timestamps: 15:56–29:07

• Public and philanthropic ramifications:
  • Speculation about how the split will impact the Gates Foundation and broader global health efforts.
  • Stacy Marie: “No two people getting divorced should have potentially seismic effects on global markets.” (16:40)
  • Contrasts with the Bezos–Scott divorce; raises the question of how philanthropy is organized and dispersed.
  • Felix: “It was their joint lovely married foundation baby thing… a foundation run by two trustees who are divorced… seems improbable.” (26:46)
• Vaccine Intellectual Property Dispute:
  • The Gates Foundation had supported Oxford licensing its COVID vaccine to AstraZeneca under strict IP rather than open-sourcing it, a controversial move.
  • Recent U.S. administration position supports waiving some vaccine IP to boost manufacturing and public health.
  • Emily: “The more you dig into their argument, the more bogus it looks… The bottom line result is drug prices are higher… taxpayers pay more for drugs they really need.” (19:46)
• Philanthropic futures:
  • Debate about the utility of giant legacy foundations versus direct, more nimble giving.
  • Uncertainty over whether the full Gates fortune will flow into the foundation following the split.

4. Facebook Oversight Board and Content Moderation

Timestamps: 29:09–36:41

• The Board supported Facebook’s decision to ban Trump, but disagreed with the lack of a clear policy or defined ban duration.
  • Stacy Marie: “This is a board paid by Facebook. This is not an independent, external, hands-off universe of people.” (29:17)
  • The Board told Facebook to create set policies, not make ad-hoc, indefinite judgments.
  • Emily: “Facebook can do what it wants… It’s mostly theater here.” (31:42)
• Wider implications:
  • Points to a reluctance by Big Tech to make explicit editorial or speech decisions, preferring to hide behind "independent" panels.
  • Comparison to traditional media and regulatory approaches in the UK; the lack of accountability or standards in the U.S. is startling.
  • Felix: “There is accountability in the form of the FTC imposing a fine on CBS for inadvertently revealing Janet Jackson’s nipple… but nothing else.” (36:27)

5. Numbers Round — Memorable and Wry Facts

Timestamps: 36:41–42:06

• Felix: Berkshire Hathaway’s stock price (A shares) reached ~$429,496, nearly breaking the NASDAQ because stock tickers are not programmed to handle such high numbers. (37:09)
  • Quote: “His [Buffett’s] refusal to split shares has now broken the stock exchange.” (38:17)
• Stacy Marie: 18 million fake testimonials on net neutrality discovered, with one college student responsible for 7 million. (38:22)
• Emily: “Not zero”—referring to the (very small) chance that Chinese rocket debris could fall on you or me this weekend. (40:26)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Felix (on the jobs report): “We have never seen economists get it so wrong… Suddenly everything that we thought we were happy about in terms of jobs in America turns out to be something we are now sad about.” (01:16)
• Emily (on women and work): “Mothers of young children… are still stagnating, and it doesn’t take an Einstein type to figure out why… you can’t rely on childcare yet to get back to work.” (03:29)
• Stacy Marie (on social complexities of birth rates): “It is very hard to… separate the underlying economic realities from the political rhetoric and policy… because they’re all intertwined.” (11:11)
• Felix (on population decline): “I think there are worse things in the world than having a population decline.” (10:44)
• Emily (on childlessness): “Having children is really hard. And not having children has become increasingly easier… as women gain equality, they’re gonna be less likely to have children.” (09:26)
• Felix (on the Facebook board): “It just goes to show how completely useless this oversight board is.” (31:06)
• Emily (on tech company responsibilities): “These companies… are media companies. And media companies for the longest time have taken some kind of responsibility, set some limits, had some standards… You have to do that.” (34:15)

Tone & Style

The episode maintains a blend of sharp wit, informed skepticism, and frank social commentary. The hosts don’t shy from expressing personal opinions, often with humor, but ground their takes in policy analysis and news context.

For Further Listening

For deeper dives on philanthropy, tech policy, or labor force issues—check out their bonus Slate Plus segments and follow-up discussions.

End of Summary