Where Are the Babies? An Ominous U.S. Birthrate

Shortly before Christmas, the U.S. Census Bureau put some coal in the nationâ??s holiday stocking. It released data highlighting a worrisome trend: The population grew a subdued 0.7 percent, the lowest rate of growth since the Great Depression years of 1936 and 1937. Declines in the birthrate and the slowing pace of immigration are to blame.