Listening to people worry about lower birthrates on World Population Day is enough to drive me to drink on National Mojito Day

Happy World Population Day and National Mojito Day! I begin the holiday observances with Newsweek's Singles Pandemic: Why Global Birthrates Are Falling—and What It Means for Our Future.

Birthrates are falling fast—and the impact could reshape the future of economies, families, and entire nations.

In this episode of Blind Spots, we explore the global fertility crisis, from Japan and South Korea to the United States. Why are fewer people having children? How do economic pressure, changing cultural norms, and government policy play a role? And what happens when aging populations outnumber the young?

Singles Pandemic breaks down one of the most urgent demographic trends of our time.

It was time to put the world back in World Population Day after concentrating on U.S. trends since 2020. Japan and especially South Korea have it worse than the U.S., while the French seem to have it better.

Speaking of focusing on the U.S., I'm looking at the other side of American population equation before examining birth rates with TODAY reporting U.S. life expectancy rose to 78.4 years in 2023 early this year.

U.S. life expectancy rose to 78.4 years in 2023, hitting its highest level since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Well, that's good news, although U.S. life expectancy still hasn't risen to its 2014 value of 78.9 years. It sank most of the years since, which I started blogging about in 2016, before collapsing during the pandemic and recovering afterwards. If U.S. life expectancy reaches 80 years, I might post Professor Farnsworth. That might be awhile.

Follow over the jump for videos about the situation in the U.S., including what, if anything, can be done about it, plus a video about National Mojito Day.

I resume with CNBC explaining Why The U.S. Government Wants Americans To Have More Kids.

America’s fertility rate is at a historic low, and governments around the world are experimenting with ways to raise birthrates. The U.S. is no exception, but experts argue the policies proposed by the federal government fall short. This video explores why one-off proposals like baby bonuses and child tax credits may not be enough to reverse the trend of declining fertility.

This is in the same vein as CNBC asks 'Is The U.S. Running Out Of People?' That was four years ago, and the underlying issues haven't changed, although this video does a better job of presenting possible solutions and their likely effectiveness along with an examination of the underlying cultural issues that are beyond what most economists study.

Speaking of cultural issues, The View explored those and more, including one particular solution, in White House Considering Plan To Boost Fertility Rates.

With the president considering a $5,000 bonus and other post-natal perks to incentivize women to give birth, ‘The View’ co-hosts question if this will this deliver for millions of American families.

Overpopulation, AI, and Project 2025 — am I glad I embedded this video for some intelligent, personal takes on the issue!

Both Elon Musk and JD Vance make cameos in some of the above videos. Their views, along with the opinions of those who agree with them, are the subject of CNN asking Is declining birthrate 'global warming of the right'? The rising conservative movement 'pronatalism'.

CNN’s Meena Duerson travels to Austin to join roughly 200 'pronatalists' for the second-ever Natal Conference, an event devoted to discussing the world’s declining birth rates and potential solutions. The issue is a hot topic among demographers, economists and Elon Musk.

I read the subject line to my wife as a sample of what I am blogging about and she was appalled and offended. She didn't even have to watch the video. I did, and it was as bad as I thought. At least CNN picked up on the eugenicism, racism, and sexism behind the movement. If they hadn't, I'd have been disappointed.

Listening to the pronatalists is enough to drive me to drink, so I'm sharing National Mojito Day | July 11th - National Day Calendar.


That's a wrap for today's double observance. Stay tuned as I start covering the television nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards tomorrow for an early Sunday entertainment feature because Sunday is Souther followed by Bastille Day on Monday.