, Columnist
Family-Friendly Federal Policy Should Be a Priority
Conservatives are concerned about the decline in the US birth rate, but they disagree over the reasons for it.
Public policy affects the playground.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
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This is peak season for conceiving babies. Coincidentally, this December has also seen a debate over whether and how to expand the child tax credit, and that debate has brought more attention to another one: Why have US birth rates been dropping?
On the American right, the line of division over this question is a little peculiar. Social conservatives typically fixate on culture, while libertarian conservatives emphasize economics. On birth rates, the sides are reversed.