The fertility rate in America is not good. Our country’s population rate hasn’t been this low since the 1930s. With a birth rate of just 1.6, it’s not going to keep up with the death rate, which is a foreboding sign for an already slow economy that depends on young people to drive it.

With the economy being in a major slump for the second time in their adult lives, Millennials — an already financially unsettled demographic — are even less inclined to start families. In 2007, the economy took a hit and affected the job and housing markets. This hurt Millennials who were just joining the workforce and trying to start families. It was a slow climb to get out of that downturn. Finally, the economy hit its peak during the Trump administration. But then, due to COVID pandemic lockdown policies in March of 2020, it was ground to a screeching halt. After the 2020 election, there was some hope the economy would rebound, but poor Democrat governance has continued to stifle economic growth. We are currently facing a labor shortage, supply chain troubles, an energy crisis, and rising inflation. Birth rates and economic growth tend to be in a symbiotic relationship: The more successful the economy, the more inclined people are to procreate. No wonder the birth rate is so low.

Then take into account the major cultural changes that took the nation by storm. The culture war, spearheaded by woke progressives, is making the nation a scary place for parents to think about having a child. Leftist policies are causing a crime spree in inner cities. In Chicago alone, there have been more deaths this year of children by violence than by COVID. And those children who do make it to school age are forced into the gamut of navigating the public school system. Potential parents couldn’t be blamed for not wanting to expose a child to the deprivations therein. This is especially true when article after article show just how much sway woke mobsters have over public schools. They are segregating classrooms by race, filling the libraries with pornographic books, allowing boys to use girls’ bathrooms, and, after the inevitable sexual assault, calling parents who object “domestic terrorists.” Then there’s the shameful practice of abortion. This silent genocide of tens of millions of children contributes to the birthrate decline — so many amazing people murdered before they even had a chance.

Societal pressures that are put on women have also shifted. Women are pushed to continue with graduate programs or establish careers in lieu of starting a family. As a result, they are marrying later and tend to have children in their 30s and 40s. This is a riskier time to have children because pregnancy and childbirth are more likely to cause mental and physical issues for the mother.

It’s also no longer feasible for most families to be a single-income household. The financial needs are too great. If a couple does start a family but both parents have to work, there’s added financial pressure to provide childcare. This system limits or even denies both parents and children those rites of passage so crucial in family building.

The deterrent to having children seems insurmountable. But it is a journey of self-sacrifice that’s worth every sleepless night and dirty diaper. For those who are able, starting a family is an act of courage and the rewards are immense. Which is to say that basing the decision to have a child on all the bad things happening in the country right now is shortsighted. A better future is brought about by raising children in the way they should go. Children are the harbingers of the hope we have for a better future.