Children

Have you ever considered that having a baby could be a matter of the national economy or even national security? It appears that the futures of nations worldwide will be determined by the people who are having children.

The Total Fertility Rates (TFR) is measured by children per female. According to Wikipedia, "The TFR is a synthetic rate, not based on the fertility of any real group of women, since this would involve waiting until they had completed childbearing. Nor is it based on counting up the total number of children actually born over their lifetime, but instead is based on the age-specific fertility rates of women in their `child-bearing years,' which in conventional international statistical usage is ages 15-44 or 15-49."

The TFR in nations all over the globe is dropping quickly. In the period just after World War II (1950-1955) the worldwide TFR was 4.92 children per female. By 2010, the TFR had dropped to 2.49. The TFR is expected to drop to 2.1 by 2035.

The TFR for the United States is 2-3 children per female, but it appears that our growth is positive only because of immigration. The plummeting birthrates create numerous and significant problems. The generous entitlement programs that were once pyramid-shaped have become inverted with more people receiving benefits than those paying into the system. Other countries are also experiencing serious problems because of the entitlement programs established in past years.

Economic problems are not the only signs of trouble ahead. It appears that the Muslim populations in European nations have higher TFR than native Europeans. This means that Muslims will soon be the majority ethnic groups in those nations and thus have added political power. There is sure to be more social and political unrest in those nations as the proportions of each group change.

The United States is not yet in that position, but we could soon have the same problems. We cannot continue to rely on immigration to maintain our population base. It appears that only those people who believe in families are having children, and the willingness to have children appears to be a religious issue. If the United States is to remain a Christian nation, then Christians must continue to have children.

I have always considered that the decision to have a child is between a man, his wife and God, and I still believe that no one else has the right to tell a couple when to have children or to stop having them. I just want to remind you that having a baby is important to the national economy as well as national security.