The birth rate in the United States continues to fall -- and that could have an adverse effect on the future of the country.
The birth rate last year dropped to the lowest level in history in the United States, with the heaviest drop among immigrants. The rate dropped eight percent, and Elizabeth Crnkovich of the Population Research Institute discusses the significance of that.
"We already dropped below replacement level," points out the Institute's media coordinator. "And when a country's fertility drops below replacement, the future generations suffer more and more and it's harder and harder for them to support the economy -- and so the economy would keep declining."
According to Crnkovich, that also impacts the aging part of the population.
"The young generations, they're also the ones paying the Social Security taxes," she explains. "And if you don't have as many young people as old people, then they're paying way more than they would need to support their elders."
The drop in the birth rate is not just because many families are opting for fewer children. Other factors include abortion, which has a major influence, as well as the state of the economy, which influences how many children people will have.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow.com
