Australia's fertility rate is at its highest in 25 years, but the nation's Productivity Commission warned last week that more babies may harm the economy.
Nearly 300,000 babies were born last year, and the commission said new mothers leaving the workforce will weaken the economy, aggravate the aging-population problem and deplete the taxation base.
Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, called the report a gross exaggeration. In fact, he said, people typically contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars more to the economy than they consume in a lifetime.
"Babies are blessings, not burdens," he said. "People come into this world not just as stomachs, not just as consumers — they come with brains and hands, and they make contributions."
Mosher said the only way to counter an aging population is to have lots of children.
"Since children become workers, any reduction in the tax base would be short-lived, soon to be offset by the increased numbers of young workers," he said.
Jenny Tyree, associate marriage analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said marriage and parenting play a vital role in the success of the economy.
"Married mother-and-father families tend to use economies of scale and the division of labor in highly efficient ways," she said. "Children contribute positively to the economy — and society as a whole."
Many nations are experiencing below-replacement fertility rates because of population-control programs. Tyree said Australia is in a unique position to demonstrate the value of life.
"The leaders of most European countries and Russia would love to have Australia's so-called problem of a high rate of fertility," she said. "Australia's leaders have an opportunity to show the rest of the world how to capitalize on a country's greatest natural resource — the next generation."
