Low birthrate a nation's undoing

I look forward to reading more about the current trend toward childless families in the United States. Your recent article uncovered only the tip of the iceberg, and I assume that this look into the crisis will be an ongoing report.

A civilization that does not have enough children is, in essence, committing suicide. This trend is by no means limited only to the United States.

Among Western nations, only America is having children at a rate above the replacement rate of 2.0 children per family. And not by much. Current statistics show that the birthrate in America is around 2.1 percent. The saddest news is that Europe is far below the replacement level, and in many cases, too far below it to ensure long-term survival.

Italy and Spain, historically known as "family oriented" nations, have the lowest birthrates in Western civilization. They are both at around 1.3 children per family.

Some people may be surprised to learn that in America, nearly 100 percent of the growth in public school enrollment over the past 20 years is due to immigration, legal or otherwise.

So, the next time you want to whine and complain about illegal immigrants coming to the United States to work and raise their families, remember this: they're doing the jobs that would have been done by the children you didn't have.

Sherman Reinhardt

Elgin