I read Age Wave back in the ’70s. Ken Dychtwald’s book wasn’t just about aging—it was about what happens when an entire generation, the Boomers, crests like a wave and crashes onto the shores of society, changing everything in its path.
I’m part of that wave. And ever since, I’ve watched this country get older—not just in birthdays, but in backbone. And while politicians squabble over budgets and borders, a quieter crisis is creeping in: America is running out of people.
Not Just a Numbers Game
We’re not facing the apocalypse, but something far subtler and just as dangerous: we’re running out of workers, welders, soldiers, caregivers, and kids. Our national fertility rate has been below replacement level since 2007. The cost of raising a family has ballooned. Immigration—our longtime demographic safety valve—is choked by politics and paranoia. Now, our factories stall, our military can’t recruit, and classrooms echo a little more each year.
Yes, we’ve got AI. And yes, I’ve written about how automation will fill some of the labor gaps. But let’s get real: You can’t code a conscience. You can’t train a robot to raise your kids or die for your country.
The Momentum Crisis
This is bigger than numbers. It’s about national momentum. A society survives when each generation believes the next is worth building. But we’re not just aging—we’re atrophying. Fewer people means fewer risks taken, fewer hands to help, fewer dreams pushed forward.
And here’s the kicker: We asked for this.
The ZPG Legacy
Back in the ’60s and ’70s, the cry was Zero Population Growth. Paul Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb warned that humanity was multiplying itself into extinction. The environmental movement latched on. So did celebrities like Jane Fonda, John and Yoko, Jacques Cousteau—you know, the usual suspects. Even Maude tackled abortion and overpopulation on prime-time TV.
And guess what? They won.
Birthrates dropped. Family sizes shrank. Governments pushed contraception. Public consciousness shifted. The idea stuck: fewer kids = smarter planet.
But half a century later, that victory has circled back—and the cost is hitting us in real time. Shrinking schools. Aging workers. Strained hospitals. A military recruiting crisis. And Social Security? On life support.
Who’s Still Having Kids?
We hit the brakes—and now we’re coasting into a stall.
And still, Washington keeps trying to kick out the only people still having kids, still doing the work, still believing in the American Dream even as the country tells them to get out.
There are about 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Many are raising children who are U.S. citizens. These families have higher fertility rates than the U.S.-born population. Their kids are the future welders, nurses, techs, and yes—soldiers.
So when ICE raids a neighborhood, splits families, and deports that hope in handcuffs, we’re not saving the country—we’re slowly dismembering it.
And here’s what I tell the crowd that wants every last undocumented person out:
“When you’re lying in a nursing home with a bedsore and a full diaper, who do you think is going to wipe your ass? AI?”
The Numbers Don’t Lie
We’re not being overrun.
We’re being hollowed out.
Just look at the birthrate by generation:
| Generation | Birth Years | Avg. Births per Woman |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | ~1928–1945 | 2.3–3.0 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946–1964 | Peaked at 3.77 (1957) |
| Generation X | 1965–1980 | 1.8–2.1 |
| Millennials | 1981–1996 | ~1.7–1.8 |
| Gen Z / Gen Alpha | 1997–present | Below 1.6 and falling |
A Global Mirror
We’re not the only ones.
I once heard Marine Corps Gen. James “Hoss” Cartwright call Russia what it truly is: “a dying nation.”
Not because of war—but because of math.
He didn’t mince words. Russia’s birthrate has cratered. Its towns are emptying. Male life expectancy is barely pushing 66. Alcoholism, poor healthcare, and economic stagnation are gutting the next generation. And here’s the kicker, Cartwright dropped:
“The Chinese won’t have to fight for more land. They’ll just walk into Eastern Russia.”
And he’s right. That vast, resource-rich region of Siberia—timber, oil, gas, gold—is already seeing a quiet migration of Chinese workers and businesses. Russia doesn’t have the population to fill it, defend it, or even maintain it. And China does.
No missiles. No tanks.
Just time, boots, and birthrates.
That’s what happens when a country lets its future bleed out while obsessing over its past.
And if you think it can’t happen here, think again. Demographics don’t care about flags.
Final Question
So forget the GDP. Forget the Dow.
Start asking the only number that matters:
Who’s coming up behind us?
Because if we keep deporting the answer to that question, we’re not just running low—
We’re running out. Fast.