If we want more babies, we need to fix adulthood first

I read an article last week noting that by the end of this decade, every Baby Boomer in America will be 65 or older.

Because Baby Boomers make up the largest generation, we’re already feeling the effects of that demographic shift—worker shortages, pressure on health care systems and growing strain on Social Security and Medicare. These aren’t abstract policy debates. They are realities playing out in real time.

At the same time, young adults are delaying marriage and children. That matters, because the United States is now on track to see population decline within the next several years. Fewer workers supporting more retirees is not a sustainable long-term equation.

Some political leaders have concluded that the answer is simply to push Americans to have more babies. That message has grown louder in recent years, often paired with policies that limit reproductive choice, make divorce more difficult or reduce educational financial support for professions traditionally dominated by women.

The assumption behind these efforts is that population decline can be corrected through social pressure or government-driven “family values” mandates. But that misunderstands the problem—and risks creating new ones.

If we want more babies, we need to fix adulthood first.

For many young people today, adulthood itself feels increasingly out of reach. When many Baby Boomers finished college, we didn’t have everything figured out—but we had a job, a reasonably priced apartment and a clear path forward. In Oklahoma, you could build a stable life without advanced degrees or excessive debt.

That ladder looks very different today. Housing costs have climbed sharply, wages have lagged and even well-educated young adults are postponing homeownership, marriage and children because financial stability feels unattainable.

This isn’t a rejection of family life. They’re just doing the math.

If policymakers truly want to strengthen families and reverse population decline, the solutions are practical—not ideological.

First, adulthood must be affordable again. Affordable housing, sensible zoning reform and wage growth tied to productivity all matter. You can’t realistically start a family from your parents’ spare bedroom, and you can’t raise children without economic stability.

Second, strengthening families doesn’t mean limiting women’s options. Policies like paid family leave, affordable childcare and early education are tools that help families remain economically stable and productive while raising children. And, yes, availability of reproductive health care is essential in helping families make decisions about whether or not to have children.

That matters for employers, too. Oklahoma businesses already struggle to recruit and retain workers. Keeping parents engaged in the labor force is an economic necessity, not a cultural concession.

Third, immigration must be approached as an economic tool rather than a political scare tactic. With birthrates below replacement level, a legal, orderly, skills-based immigration system is essential to sustaining growth—particularly in industries critical to Oklahoma’s competitiveness.

And finally, young adults need confidence in the future.

People are more likely to commit to marriage, children and community when they believe the system is fair, institutions function properly, and effort is rewarded. A politics driven by grievance and endless culture-war theatrics does little to inspire long-term investment in family or country.

The rising cost of adulthood is every bit as big of a challenge as declining birth rates. Fix the economics of adult life, and perhaps then families will follow.