The Upside Down Family Tree

Mother Teresa

There is an old, outdated notion in society that the world is in danger of overpopulation-- that the world's resources are dwindling in a way that will not sustain human life much longer.

There's one thing that this notion has correct: the idea that human life may not be sustained much longer if we continue as we have for the last century or so. But these results will NOT, as we have been lead to believe,  come because of over-population. Instead, the math and statistics all point to UNDER-population being the cause.

From a very interesting new article in the National Review:

"The problem with the advanced West is not that it’s broke but that it’s old and barren. Which explains why it’s broke. Take Greece, which has now become the most convenient shorthand for sovereign insolvency — 'America’s heading for the same fate as Greece if we don’t change course,' etc. So Greece has a spending problem, a revenue problem, something along those lines, right? At a superficial level, yes. But the underlying issue is more primal: It has one of the lowest fertility rates on the planet. In Greece, 100 grandparents have 42 grandchildren — i.e., the family tree is upside down. In a social-democratic state where workers in “hazardous” professions (such as, er, hairdressing) retire at 50, there aren’t enough young people around to pay for your three-decade retirement. And there are unlikely ever to be again."

And:

"Look at it another way: Banks are a mechanism by which old people with capital lend to young people with energy and ideas. The Western world has now inverted the concept. If 100 geezers run up a bazillion dollars’ worth of debt, is it likely that 42 youngsters will ever be able to pay it off?"

 The National Review is not the only source for this information. I know I've shared this before, but his video made by the German government to encourage its citizens to have children is telling of their demographic troubles:



And here are a couple of a series done by the Population research Institute:






We are literally facing a demographic crisis in our country that is already happening around the world. I want to state clearly here that I know not all women can have children. But we can ALL value, love and nurture the children that come into our lives, and do our best to make this world a better place for the future generations to come.

It sounds like they're going to need it.