Elon Musk's recent comments urging Americans to have "three or more" children, regardless of financial concerns, have ignited debate about the feasibility of family expansion amid skyrocketing costs. Musk made the statement during a pro-Trump rally in Pennsylvania, encouraging people to overcome their fears around affordability and "just start families," suggesting that "costs will work out."
The Cost of the American Dream: Raising Children Amid Financial Struggles
The cost of raising a child in the United States has reached staggering levels, with an average annual expense of $21,681, according to GoodHousekeeping.com. A 2023 study by LendingTree revealed that housing, food, childcare, health insurance, and transportation costs contribute to this estimate, bringing the total expense of raising a child to adulthood to approximately $237,482. This doesn't include costs for higher education or other luxuries like family vacations, enrichment classes, or extracurricular activities. The escalating cost of essentials has led to financial strain for many families, with a 19% increase in child-rearing expenses over the past seven years, outpacing wage growth and inflation.
Childcare and housing are the most significant contributors to this financial burden. According to UrbanSitter, more than half of U.S. parents pay at least $1,000 monthly for childcare, with some families spending as much as $2,000. Meanwhile, housing costs have also surged, with today's median household income needed to buy a home reaching $105,504. Rising food prices have further intensified the financial challenge, with the USDA reporting a nearly 10% food price increase in 2022, driven by factors such as inflation and supply chain disruptions. As a result, the costs associated with child-rearing have become a concern that impacts more than just individual families, with potential long-term consequences for society as a whole.
Families Facing Rising Costs of Essentials
The expenses related to raising children have become more daunting for U.S. families. A video posted by a California father of six on X (formerly Twitter) in July showed a grocery receipt totalling $444 for a week's food supply from Trader Joe's. Responding to the video, a journalist for Parents magazine acknowledged the reality of high grocery bills for large families, sharing her experience as a mother of five. "For the sake of our mental health, we haven't even begun thinking about the costs of future weddings," she admitted. In the U.S., an average wedding costs about $41,000, adding yet another reason for families to hesitate over expanding.
Musk's Ever-Expanding Wealth and Influence
Musk's financial position allows him to bypass these concerns. His holdings include Tesla, SpaceX, and X, and he co-founded OpenAI and sold PayPal. His net worth, estimated at $242 billion, makes him the world's richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Tesla's recent financial reports reveal a profit of $2.2 billion in the third quarter of 2023, with sales jumping by 8% to $25.2 billion. Musk's unparalleled financial resources underscore the contrast between his reality and the average American family.
Musk's call for Americans to have children is part of his longstanding concern over declining birth rates. At the rally, he told supporters, "People worry too much about making ends meet... Just have kids. You won't regret it." This echoes Musk's earlier comments on X, including a July 2022 post where he labelled falling birth rates as "the biggest danger civilisation faces by far." In February, Musk posted: "Kids are the best. I'm doing my best to encourage people to become parents... The population collapse in most countries is a tragedy." He even hoped families would have "three or more" children to counteract the ageing population.
Public Reaction to Musk's Comments
Musk's remarks have spurred considerable public backlash, with critics pointing out his privilege. Social media users on platforms like Yahoo! Finance and Facebook responded with comments noting Musk's disconnect from the financial realities average Americans face. "He must not know about a thing called poverty in America," one commenter posted on Yahoo. "Spoken like a man who has never, not even once, had to contemplate the cost of anything," echoed Facebook user David Gersic.
Others questioned Musk's involvement with his 12 children, expressing scepticism over his family advice. "Maybe he should quit obsessing about money and power and focus on his own kids first," commented user Kim Carlson, criticising Musk for prioritising his business ventures over his parental role. Scepticism over his intentions also surfaced, with some claiming Musk's encouragement to have more children comes from self-interest, given his ambitions to expand humanity's reach into space and sustain population growth.
