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 "All we have is the knowledge passed on to us by
our elders. But to bridge the generation gap, one needs to adapt to the new
while retaining the goodness of the old." – Sonali Bendre
From the collapse of ancient Rome to the fall of the Mayan empire, evidence from
archaeology suggests there are many factors involved in the loss of
civilizations. These include famine due to climate change, epidemic diseases,
continual warfare, collapses of economies due to loss of trade routes, changes
in political leadership, and above all, their failure to replace the aging
generations.
For a society to remain prosperous, maintain growth and survive, it must
replenish itself from within by reproducing new generations to replace the
aging. This is a natural process that historically has taken place in societies
that reflects their ability to survive for centuries. Since societies are made
up of "people," they need to continue to reproduce "people within that society"
for it to self-survive.
For the past few years everyone has been focused upon the global crisis of the
COVID-19 pandemic that caused the world to slow down, but it never ceased
turning. Although getting back to normalcy for some has been curtailed by "too
much help from the government," it looks like we might survive.
Modern societies have proven their resilience and ability to recover from two
Great Wars when love-hungry men and women made up for lost soldiers and
loneliness by producing waves of offspring. Fortunately, we've not been involved
in conflicts of that magnitude for decades. But unfortunately, the world has had
"too few love starved men and women," and is experiencing a global birth crisis.
According to the BBC, global declining fertility rates could lead to nearly
every country shrinking in population by the end of the century. And 23 nations,
including Spain and Japan, are expected to see their populations cut up to one
half by 2100. And there could be dozens more joining them.
The world is aging dramatically, with as many people turning 80 as there are
being born. In 1950, women had an average of 4.7 children, but today it is less
that half of that. A research group at the Washington University Institute for
Health shows the global fertility rate at 2.2 in 2019 and predicts it will fall
below 1.7 by 2100. They concede this is not due to war, disease or any natural
disaster.
Researchers expect the number of people on the planet to peak at 9.7 billion
around 2064, before falling down to 8.8 billion by the end of the century.
Professor Christopher Murray said, "It's a pretty big thing how most of the
world is transitioning into a natural population decline by its own choice."
The fertility rate in America has been declining since the early 19th century,
interrupted only by the baby boom following World War II. Another drop in the
total fertility rate came in the 1970s due in widespread contraceptive use and
very liberal abortion laws. And since 2007, America's birth rate has declined
from 2.12 to 1.64. This drop in fertility is already affecting the survival of
our society.
There is a growing disequilibrium between the number of available jobs and the
declining pool of qualified workers to fill them. During COVID, millions of
workers were laid off. While some actually retired early, many others went on
extended federal unemployment and have stayed home rather than return to work.
"Our main problem, as Barack says, is a three letter word, J-O-B-S." – President
Joe Biden
Biden made it easy for workers to remain sick too long and these millions of
“terminal-sickos” remain unable to work long after the COVID crisis. With over
40% of adults still unemployed, it's unlikely that a new larger generation of
able-bodied workers will soon surge into the labor force.
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While there are more potential parents than ever before in America today with a
population that has soared to over 330 million, these numbers do not translate
into automatic workers. With one of the world's lowest fertility rates at 1.64,
citizens and aliens in America are not replacing themselves.
According to Census data, just three decades ago America had 80 million fewer
people, but it had a quarter-million more annual births. During the 1960s and
1970s, postponement of childbearing resulted in a steep drop in the birth rate
among American women. After 1975, U.S. birth rates rose slightly for older
mothers who had postponed families. But today that has leveled off and is
dropping.
The National Center for Health Statistics shows sexual activity has increased in
pre-21-year-olds, but birth rates dropped below 18 births per 1,000 girls for
the first time since they started tracking it. They attribute this to increased
use of contraceptives, and abortions.
"So many people start having sex at such a young age today they are too tired to
have it on their wedding night." - Howard Laken
Historically, as cultures become more affluent and leisured, from ancient Rome
to modern America and Europe, birth rates drop. Life is too enjoyable to raise
children. But as these societies age, with smaller generations they increase
immigration from nations that don't share their values or culture.
This quick fix to fill the labor and population void has long-term consequences.
Countries like the UK have used migration to boost their population, but this
has led to social and cultural problems with immigrants. This was one important
part of the Brexit agreement between the UK and the EU.
Democrats use the rationale that we need open borders to fill the jobs that U.S.
workers won't take. Yet, of the estimated 12 million illegal aliens living in
the U.S., less than a third of them work at jobs in the economy that are even
offered to American workers. And since many of them work for cash so they
qualify for state and federal welfare assistance programs, this is inherently a
net job loss.
Aldous Huxley wrote, "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." The
2021 Census shows that population grew only 0.1%. The U.S. population grew at a
slower rate in 2021 than in any other year since the founding of the nation.
Based on historical census data, the last few years population growth slowed to
historically low levels. The slowest rate of growth in the 20th century was from
1918-1919 amid the influenza pandemic and World War I ending.
According to the U.S. Census, by 2030 all baby boomers will be older than age
65. This means 1 in every 5 residents will be retirement age. Within decades,
seniors will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history. Yet instead
of incentivizing reproduction, progressives continue to demand no restrictions
on abortions and advocate for open borders to fill the population void with
illegals.
One of the great strengths of the U.S. economy, compared to Europe and Japan,
was its relatively high birth rate, which kept the population young, and the
population growth robust. We can't replace the "disappearing Americans" with
people who rely on the same government services as retirees do.
“One of the saddest lessons of history is: If we only believe what we want to
believe and we never seek the truth, we don't believe the truth until it hits us
in the face, then it's too late." – Jessie Scott
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