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Culture War Roundup for the week of February 13, 2023

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This is a fun thought experiment! I believe that the largest issue plaguing birthrate is the segregation of the sexes - males and females are increasingly segregated based off of everything ranging from political opinion to success in schools and jobs. Likewise, the social incentive structures prioritize selfish consumption over building a family unit. The most important group is the poorest class as they're the largest population pool.

  • Prison reform: Prison reform would involve several things: Firstly, legalization and pardon of all criminals with possession charges and other misdemeanors (such as an overcharged bar fight, some thefts, etc.) This means decriminalizing Marijuana as well. I generally dislike recreational drug use, but I have to admit that minimizing felony charges for certain drugs will prevent physical separation from fathers from their children.

But it's not enough to simply release the previously incarcerated - there would be mandatory work-release programs. Released prisoners would have subsidized pay from the federal government (i.e. farm pay + government subsidy pay to be paid a living-enough wage). These will be basic skill jobs ranging from farm labor to basic construction to cooking to more advanced jobs (military) based off of intelligence and affinity. Missing work will result in reincarceration.

Prison sentence limit - prison sentences would be limited to 10 years. However, this will not be just wasting away in a jail cell - low and medium level prisoners will required to complete a GED if possible to be rereleased into work study programs for the remainder of the sentence. The goal of prison is not incarceration but reeducation on a general level. The overall goal will be avoiding institutionalization by any means necessary.

Bringing back corporal punishment and the death penalty - However the above will not prevent truly psychopathic or antisocial individuals - Those deemed irredeemable or incapable of reentering civil society will be removed from society not through permanent incarceration but execution. At the end of 10 years if they are still in the system, they are eliminated to prevent clogging the system and allowing dangerous individuals from reentering society and to prevent prison from being a place for institutionalization again.

  • I touched on drug use earlier, and while I'm lenient on legalizing marijuana, all other addictive recreational substances, especially intent to distribute, will be dealt much more harshly. The borders in the country will be heavily controlled and regulated to prevent drug trafficking. The DEA would be approved to use unusual and deadly force to eliminate drug pushers and gangs from society. Countries that do not actively fight against drug use in their country or cannot fight the drug kingpins in their country will have all aid cutoff unless they can open their border and allow my country to forcibly eliminate and act with impunity to eliminate illicit addictive substances. The Opium Wars will look tiny compared to the lengths I would go to eliminate addictive drugs.

Since that is drug and prison reform, I would also look at social security reform. Right now, single parenthood gives greater social benefit than married couples - we need to reverse the incentive system at the lowest levels to mid levels to increase the incentive for couple to stick together. Probably a ranging social security credit depending on number of children, maxing out payment per child 3 children per married couple up to 5 children per married couple for incomes less than ~70k combined income from both parents.

  • For couples with incomes greater than 70k - a substantial child tax credit, subsidized (to free) hospitalization bills for the first 3 children, perhaps housing bonus incentives as well for married couples only to reduce the general cost of childcare. I also like hydrastinine's student loan forgiveness idea - though I would conditional all this incentive with married living together families.

  • End 'no child left behind' education, change education to be more equitable for all sexes. One of the main reasons is that men have the deck stacked against them so much that it's becoming impossible for men to be providers and caretakers. Serious education reform is necessary to prevent men from dropping out of society

  • Start social mixers and reduce work hours - we work longer and longer hours which prevent bonding. There needs to be more non-online opportunities to let men and women intermingle in a non-work environment where unwanted advances result in firing or repercussions.

There are so many different needs to be addressed in society it's difficult to write something comprehensive, but these would be a number of my first steps.

What does the drug thing have to do with fertility, and why do you single out marijuana as acceptable? It seems to me that there are plenty of addictive recreational substances out there that, if legalised, would be more conducive to fertility than marijuana.

Drugs cause developmental defects in children and prevents stable families and jobs that allows children to flourish. Drug addicted adults may have more children from sheer negligence, but those children will have significantly worse lives for a myriad of reasons. I assume the question isn't to have increased population growth but have all children be crack babies (if in fact there's any evidence to imply drug addicts have more children in the first place).