Trumps $5K push present wont bring more babies there are better ways to reverse sinking birth rates

President Donald Trump is mulling ways to combat America’s ongoing birth and fertility crisis.One possibility: cold, hard cash.“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Trump told The Post last week when asked about the potential $5,000 “baby bonus” to get more Americans to have kids.As a mother of six, I can’t help but wonder — will that be retroactive?The idea calls to mind the meme of a drowning man, hand barely above water, reaching out for help — only to get a high-five before slipping under.That’s exactly what this proposal feels like: a symbolic gesture in the face of a sinking reality.A one-time payout of $5,000 — an amount that wouldn’t even cover the cost of one of my births — isn’t a life raft, but a pat on the head as families struggle to stay afloat amid rising costs, child-care shortages and a culture that undervalues parenthood.American families don’t need a flashy push present.

We need durable policy change.We need tax reform rooted in research, reflecting the real needs of modern mothers and fathers, and support that empowers families to dream bigger, not just survive.Several Republicans on Capitol Hill are thinking deeply about how to ease that burden.Rep.Blake Moore (R-Utah), a father of four, this year introduced the Family First Act to update the IRS’s Child Tax Credit.His proposal would boost the CTC from $2,000 to $4,200 for each young child, $3,000 for kids aged 6 to 17, and add a new $2,800 credit for pregnant moms.That’s a policy with potential, recognizing that raising children isn’t a one-time cost, but a long-term commitment.Nations around the globe are sounding alarms about the birth dearth.

Countries like Hungary, South Korea and Iran have launched programs to reverse their demographic decline — with little success.Meanwhile, according to recently released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, America’s fertility rate has slipped to 1.62 births per woman, far below the 2.1 needed to sustain ou...