The Guardian view on falling birthrates: cash alone cannot buy belonging | Editorial

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Young people still want partners and children. Governments must address the insecurity and isolation preventing them from building familiesWhy are people in one of the world’s richest, safest countries having so few children? Singapore is asking that question. In 2000, its fertility rate matched America’s at 1.6 children per woman. By 2025, it had dropped to 0.87 – almost half the US rate. Singapore’s leaders, worried about population collapse, have reached for the chequebook. Each child, includ