CNN: South Korea spent $200 billion, but it can’t pay people enough to have a baby

Article: CNN "Korea has invested 260 trillion won but it hasn't been enough to solve world's lowest birth rate"

Source: Yonhap News via Nate [CNN article here]

1. [+1,735, -157] Things wouldn't have reached such a point if they took that 260 trillion won and just gave 500 million won to each newlywed couple on a 30 year no interest loan

2. [+1,548, -147] The biggest problem remains stagnant wages and rising housing costs

3. [+1,196, -196] The problem will never be resolved as long as the government keeps throwing money at women who refuse to give birth. Focus efforts on the families who want to have children but can't due to financial strains or infertile couples. Pay for all IVF costs for infertile couples and guarantee government run facilities that help with child rearing for families who need help. Cut back on teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools and fund more teachers in pre-schools and kindergartens.

4. [+160, -28] The gender divide is the biggest reason

5. [+100, -6] 260 trillion won... you could've given every pregnant woman 200 million won and still not amount to that... so where'd they waste all that money?

6. [+72, -23] It's no surprise that the issue wasn't resolved. Women want a society that's fairer and men who are more involved but society remains discriminatory towards them and men remain lazy. Everything the government comes up with is just more ideas to keep women from advancing in society so that they remain dependent on men.

7. [+65, -6] Reality is that no woman wants to be a slave to the modern household. Not only do they have to hold down a job like their husbands but also do all of the housework and child rearing. There's no superwoman who exists for that ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Life's hard enough as it is to keep yourself fed, no one's going to go through the work pressure of getting pregnant and having fingers pointed at them.

8. [+54, -1] Yeah but who actually got any of that money...

9. [+46, -4] This country is going to end up disappearing off the face of the earth while we all work overtime to death

10. [+40, -2] The education system is a mess here. Who would want to bring a child into such a world? Families end up spending all of their hard earned money on after school academies.

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