demographics

It's demographics time again! Last week, the CDC released its preliminary birth data for 2011. Much of the analysis focused on the raw number of births, which declined for the fourth straight year. America's general fertility rate is now the lowest it's ever been. Which is not great news.

The world is heading for demographic catastrophe. Fertility rates have been falling across the globe for 40 years, to the point where, today, Israel is the only First World country where women have enough babies to sustain their population. The developing world is heading in the same direction, fast. Only

3 percent of the world’s population live in a country where the fertility rate is not dropping.

Ramesh Ponnuru: "Obama Health Rule an Affront to Religious Groups"

Sean Trende: "A Demographic Divide: Could Evangelicals Block Romney?"

There is gloom and then there is doom. We Americans have plenty of reason for the former as we say goodbye to summer on this holiday weekend on which I am told the last gin and tonic of the season is consumed by those so inclined.

If you obsess about demography for long enough, eventually you find all sorts of off-speed proposals to deal with the world's falling fertility rate. One of which is called "Demeny voting."

Jennifer Rubin: "Gates's spokesman does damage control"

Eric Holder's not so happy about having to give terrorists military trials.

"Elite U.S. Counterterror Forces Facing Cuts"

"They are overwhelmingly white and Anglo, although a scattering of Hispanics, Asian Americans and African Americans combine to make up almost one-fourth of their ranks."

Despite on-going government efforts to encourage couples to have more children through a combination of financial incentives and guaranteed access to daycare spots, Germany’s rapid demographic decline continues unabated.

A new Resurgent Republic poll released today finds a host of opportunities for Republicans among this fast growing group of Americans.

In an article summarizing the results of the survey, Ed Goes and Leslie Sanchez (both Resurgent Republic advisory board members) underscore the importance of this growing demographic group of Americans.