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Declining U.S. birthrate has implications beyond Social Security
That families are having fewer children means fewer people paying into Social Security, and thus a crisis in the offing in about a decade, has been known for some time. This op-ed by Megan McArdle of The Washington Post explains declining birthrates and implications for the U.S. economy going forward. Birthrates have been slipping ever since The Great Recession of 2008-9. The latest data put expected lifetime fertility at about 1.6 births per woman, a record low. The key takeaway in the article is this– falling birthrates make it harder to achieve the growth needed to keep living standards from falling. Younger people drive a lot of economic and scientific dynamism. Full piece here.