“We’re at a fertility rate that is lower than the Great Depression, which is very significant,” said Pamela Smock.The issue of population shrinkage “is a very serious one,” said Ren Farley, a retired University of Michigan sociologist. “Population growth stimulates economic growth,” he said. “Population decline presents a lot of challenges that people don’t think about,” such as having a sufficient workforce and enough younger people to support senior citizens.Image Source: Michigan Department of Health and Human Resources.

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