This guy asked his dog what...

Editor's note: ...it thought of the human condition and the dog responded with, "Rough, rough." America's so-called "new baby boom" isn't human at all, it's pets. As U.S. birth rates continue to fall, a growing share of childless millennials increasingly treat pets as surrogate children, reflecting deeper economic, cultural, and social pressures discouraging family formation. The trend highlights a nation replacing long-term population growth with companionship substitutes, reinforcing the reality of a shrinking and aging society rather than a true demographic renewal. It won't be long before pets are seen being pushed around in baby carriages.

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US Population Decline

January 26, 2026 | By Martin Armstrong

A report cited by VICE says the U.S. death rate is expected to surpass the birth rate by 2030, meaning population growth would be driven primarily by immigration rather than natural increase. This is exactly the kind of story the press will sensationalize while completely ignoring the real cause: the collapse in economic confidence and the destruction of incentives to build a future.

This is consistent with the Congressional Budget Office’s projection that without immigration, the U.S. would begin shrinking around 2030 because deaths exceed births. It is an economic issue. You do not have children when you do not believe the system has a future. You do not create a family when you cannot buy a home, when taxes rise, when healthcare becomes out of reach, and childcare costs exceed disposable income.

The entire Western world is staring at the same demographic wall. Japan is already there. Europe is racing toward it. Now the United States is moving into that same trap because the cost of living has outpaced wages, the future has been mortgaged to pay for endless government promises, and the younger generation is being told to "save the planet" while the politicians fly private jets and demand you eat bugs.

An aging population means fewer workers supporting more retirees. That puts enormous strain on Social Security and Medicare, which are already unstable mathematically. The Associated Press has also covered this aging trend, noting the demographic pressure building as baby boomers move deeper into retirement and birth rates remain below replacement.

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