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Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is outspoken about the need for more children to boost population growth, and Visa (V) chief economist Wayne Best agrees that something needs to be done.
“We have to be careful that we’re still going to be productive and allow for a labor force that will allow this economy to grow,” he told Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi on a new episode of the Opening Bid podcast (see video above; listen below). “If we don’t have additional kids in the future, that’s going to create some challenges.”
Best has over three decades of experience examining and forecasting in the economics field. He has been Visa’s chief economist for more than 35 years.
“Part of our longer-term forecast as we think about the potential growth of this economy, which is, frankly, very much determinant-based on the size of the labor force,” he added.
Despite population growth of up to 5% in the past, a slowdown signals “those days are long gone,” and in their stead is a slower growth season that the US has to prepare for, Best said.
Musk has not shied away from his participation in contributing to population growth.
In the past, he has allegedly offered to father children with women, used the service of surrogates, and struck up secret deals, all of which are related to expanding his family. At last count, he is the father of 14 children and has frequently taken to X (formerly Twitter) to champion having children, with dispatches that declare “having children is saving the world.”
In the early days of his time running DOGE in the Trump administration, he was often photographed on the job with his four-year-old son, known as “Lil X.”
The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree in the Musk family. His mother recently advised people to have children even if they can’t afford them, declaring they “add value to your life.”
The slowing birth rate in the US is undeniable.
In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an average of 1.66 births per woman, down from 1.88 in 2012 and 2.02 in 2022. Part of the reason for the decline is likely related to the costs associated with raising children. Lending Tree recently reported that raising a child for 18 years will cost parents $279,674 on average, with those expenses in four US states, including Hawaii, costing over $300,000.
However, with nearly 12,000 people expected to turn 65 daily between “now and the end of the decade,” according to Best, “it really comes down to immigration and what the outlook for that looks like.”
