Joshua Monnington writes for the Federalist about unfortunate analysis from a leading legacy media outlet.
A lead article for New York Times Friday told readers, “The Birthrate Is Plunging,” and “Some Say That’s a Good Thing.” It’s a take that’s oddly disconnected and dystopian, even for a media giant known for churning out pieces at odds with reality, but the real irony is that the Times piece provides more than enough evidence to prove that America’s birth dearth is a serious problem.
The Times does have an excuse for characterizing America’s fertility decline as a “good thing”: Ostensibly, it has to do with the collapse in teen birthrates, which have plummeted by more than two-thirds since 2007. One expert consulted by the Times called the birthrate decline “a success story,” presumably for this reason. Roger Severino, of The Heritage Foundation, noted that conservatives have never advocated for “more births at all costs,” and it’s fair to say that most conservatives, particularly Christians, would welcome a decline in teen births inasmuch as that decline was due to young Americans choosing to engage in less promiscuous sex. The mere decline may be a left-wing victory, but that does not make it a right-wing one.
Times reporters Sabrina Tavernise and Jeff Adelson admit that “if the birthrate drops too far for too long, it could eventually present problems, as the country needs workers to support an aging population.” Unsurprisingly, they immediately suggest the solution of immigration and incuriously observe that the “issue has become politically sensitive,” but largely they present the birth dearth as the worry of the “political class” and conservatives who engage in “hand-wringing.”
But the problem is not insignificant, nor are its underlying causes, causes the Times references but apparently fails to take seriously: the rising median age of marriage, the smartphone as “a substitute for sex,” rampant use of “more reliable contraception,” economic difficulties, particularly related to housing, and delayed childbearing (the Times notes that “a woman in her early 40s is now more likely to give birth than a teenager”). Abortion goes unmentioned. …
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