The Concord Coalition

The Concord Coalition describes itself as “a nationwide, non-partisan, grassroots organization advocating generationally responsible fiscal policy.”  The organization is devoted to overcoming partisan politics in an attempt to reign in national debt.

A number of papers can be found on the organization’s site. These include the recently released “Will the First Boomer Budget be a Bust?” The essay makes it clear that prospects are not good for the future fiscal well-being of the United States. Read more

Action Démocratique Quebec: A Pro-Family Party in Quebec, Canada

The Action Démocratique Quebec, or ADQ, gained official status as a political party in the 2007 election, when it won 31% of the province’s popular vote and placed 41 members into the National Assembly. The organization promotes a populist notion that the government is ineffective, a desire to reduce the size of government, and a moderate (for Quebec) desire for provincial autonomy rather than either secession or complete loyalty to Canada.

In addition, the party has taken a strong stance on support for the family. ADQ states, “Moreover, in the current context of a declining birthrate, our concerns over demographic renewal and our sustainability as a society are well-founded. The narrow approach of successive former governments to the family must give way to political action that encourages couples to increase the size of their families, support couples who are struggling with infertility issues, and facilitate the adoption process.”

An official release go on to state:

The ADQ commits to:

• Restoring freedom of choice to parents. Provide all families a significant allowance for each child not attending a subsidized day-care centre.
• Encouraging the birth of a 3rd child and more. Give a $5,000 allowance for the birth or adoption of a 3rd or additional child.
• Supporting student parents. Implement a free scholarship program for parents of up to an 18 month old child to allow them to pursue or return to their studies.
• Including fertility treatment within the public health insurance range of services. Recognize infertility as a medical condition, and provide reasonable financial support toward the cost of infertility treatments of alternative methods of procreation.
• Streamlining adoption. Simplify adoption procedures in Quebec and provide financial support to parents adopting children from abroad.
• Helping families through school learning support programs. Assist primary schools that are willing to implement extra homework programs to help children whose families cannot do so.

Throughout the developed world, governments have failed to respond adequately to collapsed fertility rates. As resultant financial crises grow, a number of political parties have begun to take stances to promote and strengthen families with children. Hopefully, their proposed programs will meet with some success, and hopefully governments will adjust spending to deal with an ultimate, unavoidable fall in fertility rates. No body of land can support an infinite population. At some point, the growth in human numbers must cease.

The 2006 fertility rate of Quebec was 1.62 children per woman. More information on ADQ can be found in French here, and in English here.

Prevalence of STDs in the US: Teenage Girls

A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that more than 3 million teenage girls in the US are infected with sexually transmitted diseases. STDs can cause cervical cancer and infertility. The disease causing germs include human papillomavirus, or HPV, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and herpes simplex virus. The study also found that almost half of the tested African-American women were infected by at least one STD.

 For more details, read the CDC summary.