https://pge.post-gazette.com/.pf/showstory/202406100087/3

Coming to a school near you. Pittsburgh Technical Institute is closing and Eastern Gateway CC in Steubenville is closing.

Both of these closings have much more to do with mismanagement of the institutions and misappropriation of funds versus an enrollment cliff.

The family value of having more babies than you want or should because "God said so"?

"Get in the kitchen woman and make me a sandwich, and then make me a baby"


"Screw you Harrison"

A year from now this might be a religious theocracy with birth control outlawed.

No, this not a joke, it's a warning.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-republic...

BTW...In 2022, Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill that could have effectively banned common forms of birth control, including IUDs. They failed, but this does not mean they are finished trying.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- State Rep. Jean Schmidt, a Clermont County Republican called a pregnancy caused by rape an “opportunity” for women.
{Published: Jul. 01, 2022, 11:15 a.m.}

I'm not surprised you act like you know anything about biblical family values and completely miss the mark. Family values produce a sense of identity and purpose, leading to decisions made in joy and certainty not obligation. They are passed on from generation to generation for good reason. A culture that rejects that and thinks it can blaze it's own trail will absolutely have negative consequences.

But yeah, go with the theory that people stopped having babies for the last 15 years because the stock market wasn't good for a few months in 2008.

You know nothing of what I know and don't know, Mr. Butker. I didn't say I agreed about the stock market theory.

"Family values produce a sense of identity and purpose, leading to decisions made in joy and certainty not obligation."

Hmmm...I'm going to need you to quantify this somehow. Saying that this is due to religion or God or somehow means it's wrong to not have ALL THE BABIES ALL THE TIME is completely absurd. You do you, but don't tell me what I get out of my family is somehow less because we don't share the same belief system. And on top of that, you are also assuming that the more religious among us don't stress or certainly face tough decisions about their family planning. I know Atheists with more kids and I know devout families with fewer. It's a personal decision. "familyvalues" is a political buzzword. As meaningless as "decent hardworking Americans" around election time.

Often used by political lightweights like Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin. Also used by politicians who give divorce papers to his wife the day after her cancer operation so he can marry is mistress. Or a criminal conman who was busy screwing porn stars while his 3rd wife was home nursing their newborn infant. Or the one from Florida who was part of a scheme that led to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl. Or the famous church "college" in Virginia guy and his wife and the pool boy and the seven year long sex scandal. Or the the co-founder of "Moms for Liberty" the ultra-maga-conservative outfit that is proudly anti-LGBTQ under scrutiny for sexual abuse of a group sex partner she and her husband had been gang banging.

Tip of the iceberg.

What a staggering amount of reaches and mischaracterizations in just one paragraph. I literally said I would not boil it down to one factor. I never said anything of the sort that it is WRONG to not have all the babies. I never told you what you get out of your family is less, nor did I say you don't stress over family planning. Like not even a little bit. Your distaste of Christians is so strong you seem incapable of even having a legitimate conversation on any topic related to Christianity.

You talk in anecdotes of families you know, but this is a discussion on nationwide large scale statistics. Religious people get married and have more kids than non-religious people, fact check true.

Family values can have a lot of meanings, for sure, including a political buzzword. My usage here was about the literal value and importance placed on family. It has been diminished if not attacked for years. It is obvious in the culture, you bring up Butker and I hate to set you off on another tirade but the reaction to his speech is a perfect example of my point. The suggestion that women will find their greatest purpose in being a Mom would not have been a controversial statement 20 years ago, certainly not when being said to a devout catholic college that proclaims it in their daily teachings.

Just the suggestion to find true purpose and identity in the family gets you vilified. I do believe that in a macro-sense, people should seek to procreate as it will lead to a purpose and identity that they simply can not find anywhere else. Billions of people have found this to be true over the course of humanity, and have passed this learned wisdom on to future generations. That mainstay has been greatly halted in recent years and replaced with an entirely different message of individual fulfilment. I am 100% certain this has played a huge part in the declining birth rate.

Working thru my list of angry replies.

Greencat - Just weird. Good job highlighting bad Christians, I bet that felt good. Should I highlight bad secular people too now? No I'll just say biblical Christians explicitly profess sin in ALL people including Christians and that we live in a fallen world. Yet anti-Christians expect perfect morality from us. Also I think I better understand your deep hatred of Belmont University now.

Swank - Of course a universal set does not exist. As I said in another reply, I was focusing more on the literal value placed on family. Not really sure where you are going with the rest of your comments. I agree we aren't going back to older times, but I still maintain if we don't appreciate the value in raising a family we won't be going anywhere. What better way to understand the importance of something in our lives than the continuation of the human race depending on it?

Also, birth control. And my point was one that you don't disagree with -- there are many factors that contribute to population decline. Cost, recessions, birth control, immigration, and on and on.

But what, exactly, is your point? There's many causes, but some dude at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and everybody here should only talk about the one you care most about?

I wholeheartedly agree with the value of raising a family but it's not the only adult life choice.That clown at to$u who gave the graduation address is a perfect example of an out of touch person. A family can simply be a couple who are married and are committed to each other. It doesn't require children. Whether you intended to or not, that's how your original post came across.

BLSS - I walk nothing back. I found them referencing only the recession laughable, and I think declining religion is far and away the #1 reason for the declining birth rate so I brought it up, knowing we are already in Siberia. Of course it is multiple causes, it goes without saying. Many components are circular causes as well (a factor can result in low birthrate that also result in lower church participation). My argument couldn't be more coherent. It has been true in countless societies and generations...religion creates children at a much higher rate than secularism.

Swank - Clown at OSU? Do you mean Butker at Benedectine College, an explicitly Catholic organization? I continue to see nothing wrong with his comments when considering context and audience. It amazes me the outrage and energy spent over a guy who loves his wife, who loves to be a Mother while we barely even reflect on absent fathers, abusers and so on.

I can proclaim the value in parenthood without attacking those that do not join in it. Especially on a micro-level, I of course acknowledge many reasons why people would choose to not have kids. I enjoy analyzing macro-level factors on a number of topics.