A sweeping conservative policy blueprint, known as Project 2025, is proposing a radical national shift to encourage American families to have more children, framing declining birth rates as a critical threat to the nation's economic and political future.
Developed by the Heritage Foundation, a powerful right-wing think tank, the plan seeks to fundamentally restructure government policy to promote marriage and childbearing. It identifies a "great baby bust" as a central challenge facing the United States.
The Proposed Policy Overhaul
The document advocates for a multi-pronged approach:
- Tax and Benefit Reform: Restructuring the tax code to favour married couples with children, making it more financially viable to raise a family.
- Education and Promotion: Launching public health campaigns that promote marriage and childbearing as a social good.
- Deregulation: Scrapping what it describes as "anti-family" regulations, though specifics remain broad.
- Immigration Restriction: Explicitly linking the policy to a reduction in immigration, suggesting higher birth rates would reduce the need for foreign workers.
A Divisive Vision for America's Future
Critics have lambasted the proposals as a dystopian and intrusive effort to exert government control over deeply personal life decisions. Opponents argue it presents a coercive vision that could marginalise single parents, LGBTQ+ families, and those who choose not to have children.
The nearly 1,000-page Mandate for Leadership document is designed as a governing agenda for a potential future Republican administration. While not official party policy, its influence is significant, with former Trump administration officials contributing to its chapters.
The debate over Project 2025 highlights a deepening ideological divide on social policy, population economics, and the role of government in shaping the most intimate aspects of citizens' lives.
