NYT: “How Shrinking Populations Fuel Divisive Politcs.” I couldn’t resist this story, even though it’s in a widely read newspaper. The graphic is fascinating, projecting the change in working-age people by mid-century, demonstrating how some countries — such as the US — will have a net gain in population predominantly because of immigration + others will experience a net loss of citizens. Working-age populations will shrink in Europe, Brazil, China, Chile, Japan + Russia. “As countries get richer, people have fewer children; and it turns out that once birthrates fall, it’s really hard to get them back up again.” Tax breaks, cash bonuses + ‘even awards for heroism given to women who bear many children, none of those programs have made more than a marginal difference.’ In the graphic, Australia, Canada and the United States have small green dots,
Should We Be Learning Chinese for Political Reasons?
I’ve always had an obsession with learning a second language, however for reasons unknown I have never fully committed to ‘nailing’ one. I grew…