Somewhere between Ukraine, DOGE, and district judges out of control there is talk of something called “birth rates.” It’s a topic that we’ve brought up before in the context of Europe but now that wind is blowing here. Simply said: We need more babies. This is from National Review:
A new CDC report shows the U.S. birth rate hovering near a record low. If the patterns of 2024 persist, American women will have an average of 1.6 children in their lifetimes. That’s a very slight increase from the nadir of 2023. The major driver of the trend of reduced fertility is that women under 30 are not having babies at anything like their historic rates.
From 2000 to 2007, American fertility experienced a modest increase above replacement level, peaking in 2007 with a “mini baby boom” largely driven by foreign-born Hispanic women. A sustained decline then coincided with the onset of the financial crisis. After the Great Recession, fertility rates continued to fall and have remained below replacement level.
This trend is starting to reshape our institutions. America’s colleges have 100,000 fewer potential freshmen than last year. The number will fall by another 400,000 in three years.
These numbers, replicated throughout the developed world and much of the rest of it, call into question the sustainability of our cultures and nations: of modern life itself. Risks to nations’ GDP, pension finances, and military strength are obvious; the effects on their creativity and vitality are less measurable but no less real. The compounding effect of lower fertility over generations means that we can already expect the future to be lonelier for many people, who have much smaller and thinner family trees. The increasing suicide rates of the elderly in rapidly aging Japan and South Korea are an ominous sign. Clearly, the normal course of human life and the passing of generations benefit the entire human family.
Yes, those little babies do a lot more than scream at night when they are hungry. They grow up and go to school and universities. They will run our businesses and government. They will work and pay our Social Security taxes or keep our private pension plans funded. They will have their own babies and keep the ball rolling. And let’s not forget that we need young soldiers to fight wars.
What can government do? Not much really. It can give us tax credits but is that going to encourage young people to get married and have babies? Having a baby is not something that responsible people do to click a box in a tax return. At least, I don’t know anyone who’s done that.
So I respect people’s choices and don’t like preaching to you. It’s a hard decision but I can tell you this as a grandfather now: Christmas is a lot more fun when you have kids expecting Santa Claus.
So have a few babies. It will save your culture and make Christmas Day and tee ball games a lot more exciting.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.
PickPik” src=”https://images.americanthinker.com/vo/vos0kdzzh7l8ajijguce_640.jpg” width=”450″ />
Image: PickPik
This article was originally published at www.americanthinker.com
