The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1351690
A-8 Wednesday, March 17, 2021 The Press-Dispatch OPINION Submit Letters to the Editor: Letters must be signed and received by noon on Mondays. Email: editor@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Race for the Cure By Star Parker Points to Ponder By Rev. Ford Bond What's causing America's baby bust? When the COVID-19 pandemic started and lockdowns became part of our daily lives, some romantic souls were predicting that this would pro- duce a baby boom. Now, as the data shows up, we see exactly the opposite. CBS obtained data from health de- partments in over two dozen states that shows "a 7 percent drop in births in De- cember — nine months after the first lockdowns began." Research from the Brookings Insti- tution in Washington, D.C., predicts that births may well be down 300,000 to 500,000 in 2021. The prediction is based on a nega- tive correlation between birth rates and the unemployment rate. Higher unemployment means fewer babies. Brookings also notes, contrary to what the romantics thought would hap- pen, that surveys of couples, particular- ly those with young children at home, report declines in sexual activity. But these COVID-related hits to birth rates really attach to a trend of declining fertility rates in the U.S. that has been going on for years. In 2020, the U.S. fertility rate stood at 1.78. The fertility rate is the aver- age number of children women have during their reproductive years. A fer- tility rate of 2.1 is needed to maintain stasis — to have sufficient births to off- set deaths so the total population size remains consistent and doesn't shrink. It's evident that the U.S. is way be- low this and the rate keeps dropping. Just a decade ago, in 2010, the fertility rate stood at 2.06. What's happening? Why aren't Americans making babies? According to Rep. Alexandria Oca- sio-Cortez, it's because the times are so hard and stressful. "(E)ntire generations are sunk w/ inhumane levels of student debt, low incomes, high rent, no guarantee of healthcare & little action on climate change," she tweeted out to explain our baby bust. Are things really so uniquely hard today compared with times gone by that couples no longer want to bring children into the world? Are we not procreating because young couples are stressed out that economies are spewing too much car- bon into the atmosphere, which will supposedly cause temperatures to rise? In 1935, at the height of the Great Depression, when the nation's unem- ployment rate stood at 20 percent, the fertility rate was 2.17 — above the re- placement rate and well above today's 1.78. The U.S. fertility rate in 1900 was al- most 4, more than double today's rate. Please don't tell me it was because times were so much more safe and cer- tain over a century ago. In a 2019 Pew Research survey, 16 percent said having children is essen- tial for a man to have a fulfilling life. Twenty-two percent said it is essential for a woman to have a fulfilling life. In the same survey, 57 percent said that "having a job or a career they en- joy" is essential for a man to have a ful- filling life. Forty-six percent said "hav- ing a job or career they enjoy" is essen- tial for a woman to have a fulfilling life. Regarding being married, 16 per- cent said it is essential for a man to have a fulfilling life, and 17 percent said it is essential for a woman to have one. This data, I think, sheds light on why Americans are not having children. It's not because times are so hard. Every time is challenging, and Americans are more comfortable and prosperous to- day than ever in history. Maybe the Brookings scholars will be right about having 300,000 fewer births in the U.S. in 2021 because of COVID. But consider that in Planned Parenthood's most recent fiscal year, it performed 354,871 abortions. Having children is about life, and life is about caring for more than just your- self. Calling abortion women's health care and thinking that your job is three times more important than bringing new life into the world is not a sign of a healthy culture with a healthy soul. If we want insight into our baby bust, this is what we should be think- ing about. Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show "Cure America with Star Parker." Continued on page PB When Rose and I were done rais- ing our kids and as they are now rais- ing their own families, I thought we were finally free of many obligations. Wrong. It's like starting all over again. And we are both thrilled because our obli- gations are on a shorter time frame, and we have the luxury of sending back our grandkids once our allotted time shift for sitting is done. I'm sure a lot of grandparents know what I'm talking about. Grandkids have lots of energy and it has to be spent somewhere: in sports, school and Church activities, visits, va- cations, etc and there are many occa- sions our presence are needed and ap- preciated. And when they have to take off from school for reasons of minor ail- ments, we gladly put in our time to care for them, because their parents have to be at work. It is very hard to refuse the request from children as you all know. And since there is much down- time for grandpas and grandmas espe- cially with this distancing, we're just so glad to help and have a change of environment or pace. Grandkids keep us busy and enter- tained. They can be a challenge, too, at times. They like to eat frequently, they like to play, run, holler, and they gener- ally don't want to do "boring tasks" as they say. Sound familiar? ••• So this past week, we had a delightful time with two of our grandkids . We spent two days at their house so their parents could be at work. Their regular on-call sitter had a compulso- ry meeting at her college so we covered for her absence. We were given instructions by their mom as to how their kids' e- learning should be done, and help su- pervise what they are needed to ac- complish. I've never had the experi- ence to do that, but I looked forward My Point of View By H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. Pluses and Minuses Continued on page 9 Continued on page 9 Continued on page 9 Continued on page 9 Give Me a Break By John Stossel The real experts Eye on the Economy By Stephen Moore Red states should revolt against 'blue-state bailout' Lent – Recognize Your Enemy "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may de- vour." The Church has hit the middle of Lent, and much anticipation is build- ing toward Holy Week, 2021. As we all remember, our celebration for the hope of the resurrection for 2020 was stolen from us by the disingenuous. We were and continue to be misled about the se- verity of COVID. It is a SARs Virus that strikes the elderly and the sick. It does not kill the healthy. The survival rate of those infected is 98 percent. COVID-19 is not the Black Death, the Spanish Flu of 1918, nor Ebola; but you would not know this listening to the experts who have bewitched us. We were told that maybe 35 million will die in the US; it did not happen! We were told the Church would be open on Easter - a lie! We were told we must iso- late ourselves from one another. We must allow the sick, the elderly, and the disenfranchised to die alone with- out comfort of family and clergy. How do you define evil? Men and women dy- ing on the battlefields of war are com- forted by chaplains, but not if you are at threat of COVID-19. One year later, what are we hearing? Same lies. COVID-19 will never go away. Don't let your guard down now even if you have the vaccine. Stay away from large groups [i.e. Church]. Vari- ants are mutating. All viruses mutate! We will never be free of colds and flu, but we have learned to live with them! But for some reason, COVID-19 is different; however, in spe- cial cases, you have the right to hug. The right? As you can perceive, I am frustrated at the constant barrage of disinforma- tion from the Cult of COVID that has terrified the Church for the last year. There are Churches that have been closed for the last 12 months. What will the pastor and Church officials tell Christ why they refused to minister to the Saints? Will they say, "The Church of COVID ordered me to sacrifice my flock to the good of humanity; I knew you would understand!" Jesus will respond, "You were called to minister to the fearful, the sick, the lonely, and the dying; did I not call you to be a Shepard to my flock?" I can reply, "I was not allowed to. I protested on Facebook; no one cared. I protested in the newspaper; no one cared. I protested to radio shows; no one called me. I emailed the governor; I received no response; not the first politician or ecclesiastical leader con- sidered that suspending the ministry of the Church was a crisis; God did and be assured He took notes. I did receive a few emails and phone calls, but I was on my own; most proba- bly considered me a "nut job" who does not understand the severity of the crisis. The Church that has been impact- ed the most severe is the Orthodox Church. They have centuries' old litur- gy that is demonstrative of their faith tradition, and they have not been al- lowed by many of their bishops to gath- er in, and if they are in person, the par- ticipation in worship, veneration of the icons, and partaking of the Eucharist has been curtailed or restricted. What is the purpose of worship? Among the many Christian faith tradi- tions, it is to worship God through faith as the ecclesia gather together. Lives- treaming and Facebook is not worship. Sitting in your jammies watching wor- ship is not worship. It is a stopgap mea- sure. Are we nearing the rational to make God "seen" via technology [i.e. Hologram]? Many Church leaders have ex- pressed the conviction that 'the world is facing an economic, existential and spiritual challenge.' At the same time, the pastoral presence in the everyday life of the faithful has been shifted to technology and the internet. This shift away from ingathering of the saints to homebound worship poses questions affecting the future of the Church, which is called to sup- port the faithful on the path of faith. The true Church will never bend the knee to death because she is the light of Christ in the midst of the darkness. That is what the Church has been, has taught and has confessed for more than two millennia. Only the fearful live in fear for the apostle John wrote, "Per- fect love casts out fear, because fear in- volves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." Embrace Lent as you think about it! The vaccine rollout crawls for- ward. Most of us will spend weeks, or months, waiting. Great Britain did better. As of to- day, one-third of the English are al- ready vaccinated, twice as many as in America. Why? A big reason is that our government decided to rigidly follow its regimen for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines: two doses, about a month apart. But why insist on two doses? The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are about 90 % effective after one dose, according to clinical trial data. British officials sensibly decided to give people one dose, before insist- ing that everyone get a second dose. It worked. Once people got a first dose, the coronavirus cases began to level off. Although COVID-19 was worse than Great Britain than in America, British cases have now dropped below America's. George Mason University econo- mist Alex Tabar- rok helped convince British health offi- cials to try the "first- dose-first" approach. But he couldn't con- vince American of- ficials. "We have given out more than 20 million second doses," Tabarrok com- plains in my new video. "Those could have been first doses! " Had they been, 50 % more Ameri- cans would have received a vaccine by now. "Why would we believe you, rath- er than these specialist doc- tors? " I ask. "Physicians (are) not neces- sarily thinking about the per- son who is not their patient," he replies, "An economist, you've gotta be thinking about every- body." It's not too late for America to change policy. But our government's plan- ners won't change without "a proper study." In the time the study will take, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, "we will already be in the arena of having enough vaccines to go around anyway." Tabarrok, wisely, says in a nation- Congressional Democrats are a run- away train with a drunk-on-power con- ductor in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. No matter how much evidence pours in that the economy doesn't need $1.9 tril- lion more in debt spending, the Pelosi locomotive keeps crashing down the track toward the financial cliff. Gener- ations will have to pay for the joyride. One of the worst features of the bill is the "blue-state bailout." Twenty-one Republican governors and one Demo - crat are protesting the "biased" formu- la for allocating some $400 billion to the states. South Carolina Gov. Hen- ry McMaster complained that the bill "punishes" states that did the right thing by keeping their economies and businesses open during the pandemic. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the bill "loots" the red states to pay for Democratic governors who have locked down their economies. DeSantis has good reason to complain. Florida has a slight- ly higher popula- tion than New York, but New York gets $2,799 per person, or twice as much mon- ey as the $1,355 per person that Florida receives. In other words: Floridians are paying for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's incompetence. That is pre- cisely what is happening because the main factor in determining how much money each state gets is not its popu - lation but how high its unemployment rate has risen. The three states that get the most significant share of the money are New York, Califor- nia and New Jersey. These are three of the most liberal states with Democratic governors. That's not a coincidence. Blue Pennsylvania gets more per person than red Ohio. Blue Massachusetts and red Ten- nessee are about the same size, but somehow, Massachusetts receives $1.5 billion more in handouts. Connecticut gets twice as much bail- out money as Utah, despite the fact that they are about the same size in population. Heritage Viewpoint By Kay C. James Women's History should recognize conservatives Just as the likes of the great con- servative Justice Clarence Thom- as—the only Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court—are often left out of mentions of Black History Month in February, so too, are many conservative women often ignored during Women's History Month in March. The media and entertainment in- dustries tend to downplay many of the contributions made by outstand- ing trailblazing women—if they al- so happen to hold conservative view- points. The left regularly dismisses such women as less worthy of recog- nition and role modeling, and in do- ing so, leaves out a significant part of history from "women's history." Last year, for example, Time Mag- azine highlighted one accomplished woman for each of the last 100 years. In the last 20 years alone, practically every single Amer- ican woman on the list who was in- volved in politics or policy was from the left. They included Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Hil- lary Clinton and the founders of the Marxist Black Lives Matter organization, among others. There was not a single conserva- tive woman on the list. No first Black female secretary of State (Condo- leezza Rice), no first female com- bat veteran to serve in the U.S. Senate ( Joni Ernst) and no first woman to lead one of the top 20 largest companies in America (Carly Fiorina). The closest Time could get was a single moderate, Su- preme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. So, during this month's women's history celebration, will we see women's maga- zines, history websites and media outlets laud Amy Coney Bar- rett, the first Supreme Court justice and working mom? What about the Court Down Farm