Kerby Anderson
An article in Barrons two weeks ago reported that births in Japan dropped to a new low last year. The country recorded more than twice as many deaths as new babies. Marriages are at the lowest level since 1933.
The sobering numbers highlight the dramatic challenges facing the nation of Japan. It may have the world’s fourth-biggest economy in the world, but it is dying a slow death. And there are healthcare shortages for the significant number of elderly Japanese.
Here in America, we can be grateful that we aren’t in this situation, but we are headed there. The US birth rate has been below replacement level for many years. We are now averaging about 1.6 children over a lifetime. In fact, the birth rate has been falling since the Great Recession.
This wasn’t always the case. The average woman had three children in the 1950s. Eventually, the birth rate dropped to the replacement rate of 2.1 children and is currently about 1.6 children.
A below-replacement birth rate affects so many aspects of society. We may not be able to economically support an aging population. Below-replacement fertility means closing schools, shrinking college enrollments, fewer workers, and fewer consumers.
A shrinking population has been used to justify increased immigration. But a tsunami of illegal immigrants crossing the border is not the solution. The right kind of legal immigrants, who have been vetted and assimilated, will forestall a demographic collapse.
Christians understand that the family is the fundamental unit of society. “Children are a heritage from the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). They are like arrows, and we are blessed with a quiver full of them (Psalm 127:4-5). That is why pastors and Christian leaders need to teach about the importance of marriage and family.

Kerby Anderson
We keep hearing that inflation is down, but it doesn’t seem like it when we go to the grocery store or take our family out to eat. You get the bill and wonder if our mental math is correct. The bill can’t be that much.
No, you are not imagining food inflation. Two writers for the Wall Street Journal ran the numbers and concluded that Americans are spending a higher percentage on food than any time in the last three decades. Here’s how they described it:
“The last time Americans spent this much of their money on food, George H.W. Bush was in office, ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ was in theaters and C+C Music Factory was rocking the Billboard charts.”
They concluded that “eating continues to cost more, even as overall inflation has eased.” They found that prices at restaurants and other eateries were up 5.1 percent last month compared with January 2023. As you would imagine, grocery costs also increased.
What does the future hold? The writers don’t have good news. They don’t believe that relief will arrive anytime soon. “Restaurant and food company executives said they are still grappling with rising labor costs and some ingredients, such as cocoa, that are only getting more expensive. Consumers, they said, will find ways to cope.”
Food producers have found one way to keep prices from rising: shrinkflation. You might remember the message from President Biden during the Super Bowl. He was sitting in the White House theater surrounded by Doritos, Oreos, Gatorade, and ice cream.
After he complained about shrinkflation, many got on social media to suggest he talk to the person in charge of the economy that caused that problem. I would suggest that dumping trillions of dollars in new spending might have something to do with inflation and the problem of shrinkflation.