CLOSE YOUR EYES AND THINK OF SOCIAL SECURITY

Birthrate figures for the nation, teens, hit record lows (Cheryl Wetzstein, THE WASHINGTON TIMES)

The U.S. birthrate is at its lowest level since data collection started in 1909, primarily because fewer young women are having children, the federal government said on June 25. [...]

A nation needs 2.1 children per woman to maintain its population, Mr. Hamilton said. The United States is below replacement level, with 2.0 children per woman.

These numbers are unacceptable at any time, but it's hard to believe that 9/11 didn't have some influence on the decline both because it made people wonder about what kind of world they'd be bringing kids into and because so many young American men are deployed overseas. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 1, 2003 5:50 PM