US fertility reached 1.57 last year, the lowest ever recorded, and the WSJ explanation is "uncertainty about finances, relationship stability, and the political climate"
my great grandma had eleven children during the second world war, in a country being bombed, in a house with no running water, on rations.
poor people have always had kids. the poorest people on earth right now still have kids and the financial excuse is a story we tell ourselves because it makes us feel good and the real one is unbearable
the real mechanism is that we got rich enough to redefine children as an expense instead of the point. somewhere in the last fifty years the cultural goal inverted and a child stopped being what life is for and became a line item competing with the lifestyle. once you frame it that way the math never works, because the math isnt supposed to work. that's the point
we are living in the richest moment in human history and we decided to use the surplus to buy ourselves out of the future. the most prosperous civilization that has ever existed is committing demographic suicide at the altar of personal optimization and comfort, and the official line is that we cant afford it
the birthrate is a lagging indicator of a civilization that forgot why it was alive
Pope Leo led Palm Sunday celebrations at the Vatican this morning, marking the start of Holy Week and Christ’s entry into Jerusalem as King of Kings.
Meanwhile, a new report finds booming growth in American Catholic dioceses—church leaders say it’s a response to rising anxiety and isolation. | @michaeljknowles
3 straight Elite 8’s
5 Sweet 16’s (4 in a row)
SEC Championship
Best Coach in Tennessee Basketball history and one of the best to ever do it.
Don’t take Rick Barnes for Granted
The final speech of coach Lou Holtz’s life from this past November. Take the time to watch it and thanks to @A1Policy for sharing this with @outkick. RIP to Coach Holtz, a great man:
Modern films are obsessed with runtime. As if weight comes from length. The Lion King (1994) is lean, precise, and emotionally complete at 88 minutes. The 2019 remake nearly hits two hours and somehow says nothing more.
@ClayTravis The problem’s not the conference championship games. It’s the 12+ team playoff. It’s devalued both the regular season and the value of winning your conference. Both things made college football the best sport in the world, and now it’s just becoming the NFL.