[westopher]

I think both of us may be over simplifying it. Economic policy certainly has been a MASSIVE factor worldwide in terms of creating inflation and allowing housing to become a commodity first and a home second is the single biggest contributor financially to not having kids until later.
Also I’d say women becoming more educated and career focused would still allow them to have kids if men staying home was a financially viable option. 50 years ago it didn’t matter if you couldn’t afford kids, because you’d probably still have a roof and some food, albeit all quite shitty.
My mother was a single mother, with a good job and I grew up fairly well. Now one person with a great job as a single parent and you’d be absolutely scraping the bottom of the barrel lifestyle wise.