President Donald Trump called himself the ‘fertilization president’ during Women’s History Month, but some experts cited claims that ‘baby bonuses,’ such as the $5,000 plan Trump floated, have been tried in the past and had mixed results.
Singapore, Hungary and Australia are three examples of countries where such programs have been instituted.
Singapore has been subsidizing parenthood for decades, with the latest endowment per child reaching S$ 11,000 (US $8,000) as of 2023, but the tiny Asian nation still has one of the lowest birth rates in the world.
Gabriella Hoffman, an official at the Independent Women’s Forum, wrote on social media that baby bonuses did not work in Hungary.
‘Why would we replicate this here?’ she asked.
That country, led by Trump-favored President Viktor Orban, also incentivizes its residents to have more kids, including through tax breaks for families with three or more offspring. Hungary’s birth rate rose slightly about a decade ago but returned to and remains close to one.
Australia’s program began in 2004 and indexed to inflation in 2008 what was then an A$ 5,000 (US $3,180) for parents per birth. The government’s self-reported birthrate statistic was about 1.5 as of 2023.
Paula Lantz, a social demographer from the University of Michigan, told the Guardian that in the U.S., the percentage of families having more than one child has dropped and that ‘there is something else going on’ – including non-financial considerations like quality of life effects.
An official at the liberal Center for American Progress told the outlet she had a child a few months ago and that the promised $5,000 credit ‘wouldn’t do much’ even with good insurance and paid occupational family leave.
Andrea Ippolito, founder of maternal health tech platform SimpliFed, told Fox News Digital that while the $5,000 is a ‘nice boost,’ the initiative ‘just lightly scratches the surface of the support that is needed for families, especially in the early years with childcare and healthcare support that is largely missing from the postpartum care experience.’
‘In order to increase the birth rate, much more is needed to support and ensure that both mom and baby’s health is prioritized,’ Ippolito said. ‘That means both physical health needs (which are not right now as demonstrated with doubling the preeclampsia rate doubling) and mental health needs.’
On the other hand, Emily and Nathan Berning – co-founders of crisis-pregnancy support site LetThemLive.org, said that the baby bonus touted by Trump ‘is a positive step, but it doesn’t go far enough.’