MOUNT JULIET, Tenn., Dec. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As policymakers sound alarms over declining birth rates, Dr. Jay Zigmont, PhD, MBA, CFP®, says the problem isn’t people having fewer babies, it’s an economy addicted to endless growth.
After all, the prevailing wisdom is that declining birth rates don’t just reshape families, they reshape economies. Fewer births today mean fewer workers and consumers tomorrow, slowing GDP growth and straining systems like Social Security that depend on constant population expansion.
In his new TEDx talk, “The Childfree Path to a Healthier Planet,” Dr. Zigmont argues that the future of prosperity depends not on repopulating the planet, but on rethinking an economic model that equates more people with more progress.
“Our economy is cancerous,” Dr. Zigmont says in the talk. “It grows until it consumes the host. We need to stop treating growth as success and start measuring balance, happiness, and sustainability instead.”
Dr. Zigmont, founder of Childfree Wealth® and Childfree Trust®, is one of the nation’s leading experts on the intersection of demography, finance, and the emerging Childfree Economy. Drawing from personal experience and professional research, he challenges the cultural and economic narratives that paint childfree people as a social problem or an economic liability.
“The fertility rate is falling, and that’s not a failure,” Dr. Zigmont says. “It’s a signal that we must design systems that work without infinite population growth.”
In the TEDx Talk, Dr. Zigmont explores:
- Why Social Security and GDP rely on outdated, expansion-only models that are unsustainable.
- How childfree adults often make intentional, values-driven life choices that align with sustainability.
- Solutions: The problem isn’t insurmountable, but it does require a shift in mindset. It means reexamining what it truly means for a nation to thrive and deciding whether the U.S. should strengthen immigration efforts or redefine prosperity around balanced, sustainable growth.
“Maybe today’s “baby bust” isn’t a ‘crisis of the family,’ but rather an opportunity to modernize a system designed for a different century. Maybe childfree people are breaking the system and maybe that’s okay. Maybe that’s how we build a country that works together to flourish,” Dr. Zigmont concludes.
About Dr. Jay Zigmont
Dr. Jay Zigmont, PhD, MBA, CFP®, is the founder and Chief Visionary of Childfree Wealth® and Childfree Trust®, part of Childfree Insights, a national education and research hub serving the 50 million Americans who are childfree or permanently childless. A leading voice in the Childfree Economy, Dr. Zigmont is a frequent contributor to Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and TheStreet, and author of The Childfree Guide to Life and Money.
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