We Need To Have Babies

Episode summary:

America’s culture is at risk because we’ve simply stopped having enough children to replace ourselves. In this daily update, we start with a real‑world family reunion that shows what happens when generations keep building on each other. We then look at the hard numbers on falling fertility, delayed parenthood and the economic and cultural pressures that push children to the bottom of the priority list. Finally, we walk through concrete, conservative policy steps—from taxes to immigration to health care—that can make it possible for American families to grow again. 

What you’ll learn / Key moments

• 00:01 – Why fewer babies mean our culture is disappearing, and how a multigenerational family reunion tells the story.
• 00:42 – Fertility and birth‑rate stats that show America is below replacement level and what that means for our future.
• 00:54 – How careers, economics, relationships and lingering COVID‑era stress are reshaping decisions about parenthood.
• 01:42 – Policy ideas to protect and grow families: tax relief, ending minimum wage laws, securing jobs for citizens, housing and health‑care reform.02:37 – Why America is still a beacon of hope—and why that legacy depends on whether we start having kids again.

What you can do

If we want America’s culture, values and freedoms to outlast us, we have to choose to build families and demand policies that make that possible. Share this episode with someone who is thinking about their future, talk with your own family about the importance of children, and support leaders who put strong families at the center of their agenda. Then stay connected: follow, like and subscribe so you don’t miss future daily updates on how we can keep America strong for the next generation.

We are losing our culture because we are not having babies.

This is the Wilmington Standard Daily Update for Monday July 20, 2026.

Over the weekend, close to 60 descendants of two people from Erie, Pennsylvania gathered in Delaware for a family reunion that is held every two years.   If everyone showed up at the event, the ranks would swell to the hundreds as brothers, sisters, cousins, grandparents, second-cousins, and first-cousins once removed come to celebrate quite often the only thing they have in common – family.

Unfortunately, families of any size – and the resulting bonds they have – are on the verge of disappearing in our country.  According to macrotrends, the current fertility rate in the US is 1.79. The birth rate hit a high of 3.58 in 1958 .   In order to replenish the population, we need at least a 2.1.

The reasons for this low rate of birth range from life/career priorities being placed over children, uncertainty about childbearing goals, economic and relationship worries, and – believe it or not – continued stress from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Couples are also waiting longer. The CDC reports that the average age of first time mothers is almost 28. 

No matter the reason, this birth rate of 1.79 means that the American culture is doomed to die because Americans are no longer reproducing.

It has never been a great time to have kids.  There is always an economic disaster on the horizon.  Prices are never low enough, housing is never as available as we would like, and quite frankly children put a crimp on lifestyles and careers.

As a country, we need to put policies in place that protect the family and encourage its growth – but they are not the typical ones from the left.  We need to reduce and eliminate tax burdens so families can take more home.  We need to get rid of minimum wage – not increase it – so businesses of all sizes can afford to hire those who need jobs.  We need to get rid of illegal immigrants who compete for those jobs – so Americans have more leverage when talking about wages.  If we want families to be able to afford housing, we need to stop government from blocking construction of new houses.  And we need to reduce the price of health care through transparency, competition, and a 21^st century country doctor built on direct care whose primary relationship is with the family and not an insurance company or a government bureaucracy. 

America is the single greatest country on the planet.  We have been a beacon of hope, a catalyst of change, and a bulwark against evil for over 200 years.

But until we start having kids – none of that matters.

For the Wilmington Standard, I’m Reuel Sample.  Thanks for listening.