The two-parent family with children has always been the backbone of American society. There seems to be something of an effort to change that by the Obama Administration. CNS News reported yesterday on one way to save money on healthcare.
The article reported:
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told a House panel Thursday that a reduction in the number of human beings born in the United States will compensate employers and insurers for the cost of complying with the new HHS mandate that will require all health-care plans to cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives, including those that cause abortions.
A website entitled The New Economic Reality cites the consequences of a declining birth rate. A declining birthrate does NOT create prosperity.
The website reports:
Question: What role did declining birth rates play in the current economic crisis?
Answer: Economist Harry S. Dent notes that 70% of GNP in the U.S. is consumer-driven. As the Baby Boomers aged, they began spending less, moving to smaller homes and planning for their retirement. Gen-X can’t fill the gap of the decline of spending by 81 million baby-boomers. This contributed to the slump in the housing market – when Boomers began selling rather than buying, there was a glut on the market and home sales began to decline. “Demographic Winter” predicted the financial crash of 2008 to within 18 months. The “Demographic Bomb” forecasts worse in store for our economy. At any given time only 15% of homes on the market are new construction, while 85% are used homes. As the baby-boom generation ages, the coming decades will see 60% too many homes on the market.
Question: Can the economic impact of declining birth rates be seen outside the United States?
Answer: Yes, in Japan, which has a birth rate of 1.25. Of the 10 nations with the lowest birth rates today, Japan is the only one outside of Europe. It also has the highest ratio elderly to children in the world. As the rising sun sets, where will the next generation of consumers and producers come from? While much of the industrialized world saw their economies grow in the 1990s, from 1990 to 2005, Japan’s stock market fell 80%.
Between 1990 and 2005. Its real estate market lost 60% of its value.
A declining birthrate may help the cost of insurance, but it sure won’t help a failing economy!
