A new report by the Congressional Budget Office shows that the US population will begin to shrink by 2030, unless there’s a sustained boost in immigration.
The president of the Christian-backed Heritage Foundation Kevin Roberts writes in The Daily Signal: “As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, this projection underscores a hard truth: the collapse of marriage and family life represents the gravest threat to our great nation’s future.”
“That is why The Heritage Foundation has released the first in a series of special reports on Saving America by Saving the Family.”
“The central argument is straightforward. Our country cannot afford to continue ignoring our declining marriage and birth rates, as lawmakers on both the left and the right have done for decades.”
AMERICA’S DECLINING BIRTH RATE
In 1950, the number of married Americans stood at 62% or two-thirds of the country.
A 2025 Barna Group study found that number has dropped to 46% with the US birth rate at a record low of 1.6 babies per woman.
“Typically, the replacement birth rate should sit around 2.1 babies per woman for a country to actually be replacing itself effectively,” Emma Waters, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, told CBN News.
“More and more individuals are delaying marriage, if they get married at all, and even more striking, there’s a massive decline in the number of babies being born,” she added.
PLANS TO SUPPORT AMERICAN FAMILIES
Ms. Waters, a co-author of the Saving America by Saving the Family study, believes the only way forward for the United States is a society re-committed to the institution of marriage.
“We should stop punishing married families through welfare penalties and other marriage penalties,” she asserted.
“We should start supporting the American family through a host of multi-faceted approaches.”
BONUSES AND TAX CREDITS FOR MARRIED COUPLES
One idea is a A$3,600 bonus for newly married couples.
“This would be called the ‘Nest Fund’ or the ‘Newlywed Early Starter Plan for American Families,’” explained Waters.
“Another idea would be taking something similar to the adoption tax credit, which is about A$24,000, and transferring that to all American families who are having children.”
A MARRIAGE BOOT CAMP FOR STRUGGLING FAMILIES
The report also encourages a marriage boot camp for struggling families.
Emma Waters explained: “We would actually channel all of our federal programs towards the singular message that marriage is good, but very hard, and we want to provide whatever resources we can to support you.”
“The long-term impact is that you would see couples who undergo this boot camp having longer, healthier marriages, or maybe getting married in the first place where they hadn’t before.”
“There is simply no greater good to invest in, and that should be our top priority.”
“STRONG FAMILIES ARE ESSENTIAL TO AMERICA’S FUTURE”
Kevin Roberts said: “These proposals reflect a blend of long-standing conservative priorities and new ideas, all animated by a shared belief: That strong American families were at the heart of the nation in 1776 and remain essential to its future.”
“They are not offered as a final word, but as the beginning of a long-overdue national conversation about how to halt America’s demographic and social collapse.”
“Unfortunately, there are those — on both the radical Left and the libertarian right — who are rigidly and ideologically opposed to our key ideas for supporting married families.”
WHAT CRITICS ON LEFT AND RIGHT ARGUE
“Critics on the left argue that opposition to abortion and support for married parents who prefer to provide home childcare (usually through the mother) amount to a patriarchal assault on women’s autonomy and reproductive freedom,” according to Kevin Roberts.
“Critics on the libertarian right contend that government has no business trying to incentivise decisions related to family structure,” he explained.
“Few dispute that marriage rates are falling, that traditional families are weakening, or that the nation stands on a demographic precipice.”
“What is striking is how our critics echo each other in saying the government should not be doing anything pro-actively about it.”
‘IF FAMILIES DISAPPEAR, WE WILL LOSE AMERICA ITSELF”
“The problem is that if traditional families continue to disappear, we will eventually lose America itself,” Mr. Roberts declared.
“We also do not believe the solution lies in mass immigration when we can’t even assimilate the immigrants that are already here.”
“Nor do we believe that modern technology can substitute for the home, the neighbourhood, and the family.”
“The quintessential American dream of a family with a house and a white picket fence remains as important as ever to the American imagination, and our task is to convert that dream into a reality.”
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