Although there are many reasons for the low fertility rate in the mainland, high housing prices are indeed a big problem. It stands to reason that a house should be a necessity for the general public, but now it has been made into a luxury. Although the material conditions of our parents are far from what they are now, no one will worry about the house. In the past, in the countryside, when the age of marriage was reached, the village would divide a piece of homestead. The family spent some money to buy some bricks and tiles, asked a few relatives and friends to help, and the house could be built in ten days and half a month. Although the condition is simple, it is a big house that has been replaced.
(In the past, when rural people got married, they didn't think about the house at all)
This is a very important reason why fertility rates are always higher in rural areas than in urban areas.
It can be said that the rural areas are the basic plate of our country, and as long as there are enough young people in the rural areas, the mainland will have a future and hope. In the past, in the city, the house was divided into units. Those who are not married live in the dormitory of the unit, and those who are married apply to the unit and wait for the room to be divided. At that time, people, whether in the city or in the countryside, did not have to worry about the house, which can be said to have saved a lot of expenses.
But now, more than 10 years ago, the rural areas did not allocate homestead land, and all young people of marriageable age were driven to the cities to buy houses. It is a pity that the young population in the rural areas is constantly being lost, and countless people are rushing to the cities, leaving only the old, weak, sick and disabled in the countryside, and it can be said that there is no hope in sight. The unit division was completely canceled more than 20 years ago and became history.
Now the material conditions are indeed better than before, and the income is also higher.
But what about housing prices? Emptying six wallets, carrying a 30-year mortgage, and then the family conscientiously cutting back on food and clothing to pay off the mortgage is already the only way for this generation of young people. During this period, you can't be unemployed, you can't get sick, you can't have any accidents, and once your job is unstable, then you really want to cry without tears. Even this kind of one that can grit his teeth and get on the car is in good condition. There are many new-era migrant workers from rural areas who have moved to the city to take out no six wallets at all, and these people can only look at the house and sigh. If you can't even afford a single necessity of life, how can you make people see hope?
(Housing prices have become hard currency, emptying the wallets of countless people)
If we look at the absolute value, the material conditions are indeed much better now than before. But if you look at the relative values, there are now much more "poor" than before. Meng Ziyun: "Those who have constant birth have perseverance." "Why are our parents so motivated? Why is the spirit of that generation much better than that of today's young people? Because that generation does not need to worry about a necessity of life for half a lifetime!
What hope can a person who has been weighed down by the necessities of life for half his life and cannot lift his head or straighten his waist see anything? In many big cities, housing prices are ridiculously high, and even second-hand houses are as high as tens of thousands of yuan per square meter.
In such a big city, a 90-square-meter house is called a "mansion", which is built by the rich and celebrities and other high-class talents, and the ordinary middle class can only live in a pigeon cage of twenty or thirty square meters. As for the bottom floor, either three generations of seven or eight people are crammed into a dozen-level pigeon cage, or they live in a coffin room of a few square meters.
In 2019, there was a video on YouTube with more than 10 million views, an Australian lady Emma, who now lives in Tokyo, Japan, rented a super mini apartment and revealed the "super mini life" in Tokyo to netizens.
Although he had expected that the size of this type of apartment would be small, the station owner was shocked when he saw how small the apartment was. What's even more surprising is that an 8-square-meter apartment, which may be the size of your bedroom, has a bedroom, kitchen, balcony, and private bathroom.
In the mainland, there was a 6-square-meter pigeon cage house in Shenzhen, and now it is found that Japan also has an 8-square-meter ultra-mini apartment! I can't help but sigh, now, this less than 10 square meters of living space in first-tier cities, is it the way out for young people to live in a snail's nest?
In the interview, Emma, the owner's sister, lamented that this room can live in people, all because of the height of the floor. This is a mini duplex loft with bedrooms set in the attic and downstairs is the living space.
(The "pigeon cage room", which is only 6 square meters, was sold out)
Seeing this, the author can't help but sigh, could it be said that the way out for young people is to live in such a pigeon cage house of a few square meters? Such a house can only be lived by one person, and it is impossible for people who live in such a house to think about getting married and having children. Now that the mainland has let go of the three-child policy, local governments are also sparing no effort to introduce various policies, so that young people can have three children and can afford to have three children.
(The first thing to bear the brunt of raising children is housing pressure, and the fertility rate is unlikely to rise without solving the housing pressure)
It's a pity that the ideal is very plump, but the reality is very skinny. If you want a couple and two to three children to live happily, you must have a house of at least 70 square meters. As the aging population and declining birthrate intensify, it is inevitable that young people will flock to big cities. In today's situation, how can a young couple afford a large house of more than 70 square meters?
I'm afraid that more and more people will buy a small apartment or even a pigeon cage house, they will not think about getting married and having children at all, just hope that they can have a place to shelter from the wind and rain, thank God!
Nowadays, many places have known the dangers of excessive housing prices, and are doing everything they can to suppress housing prices, making houses a necessity rather than a luxury. If you want to increase the fertility rate without suppressing housing prices, it is really a matter of seeking fish. Some people may say that even if housing prices fall, our fertility rate will still not return to the replacement rate of 2.1, and perhaps housing prices are not the key to increasing fertility.
They will use the example of Singapore, where everyone has a house, but the fertility rate is very low, only 1.2, which is better than South Korea. Singapore's fertility rate is indeed not high, because Singapore is only a big city, it has no suburbs, and there are no villages, and of course the fertility rate cannot be very high in this day and age.
But don't forget, Singapore's fertility rate of 1.2 is much higher than Shanghai's 0.7! If it weren't for the fact that everyone in Singapore has a home, perhaps Singapore's fertility rate would be on par with Shanghai's!
(Singapore can achieve a house for everyone, why not learn such a good experience?)
Therefore, the top priority now is to quickly bring down housing prices so that the vast majority of people can afford to buy big houses. Only on this basis can we talk about raising the fertility rate. If you can't do this, blindly accusing young people of "lying flat" is actually an irresponsible behavior.