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If children are the future - and KSL believes they are - Utah's future is bright, indeed.
No other state in the nation, based on a report released recently by the U.S. Census Bureau, has a larger percentage of residents under the age of 18. More than 30 percent of Utahns are minors.
That demographic detail takes on special meaning when considered in the context of what's happening elsewhere in the world, especially Europe where birthrates are plummeting. Demographers say a nation's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) needs to be about 2.1 children per woman to merely replace a population over time. Europe's TFR is about 1.4.
Children are becoming scarce!
Contemplate what that portends for the future as the aging of Europe accelerates. In practical terms, who will work, earn money and pay taxes in order to maintain the region's social and economic stability? Some are predicting European society could be on the verge of collapse. Others talk of opening the doors to broader immigration as a means to sustain basic needs.
Yes, Utah is fortunate, even blessed, to have an abundance of children. Of course it creates challenges for the state's public infrastructure, especially the education system. In KSL's view, though, that's a much more pleasant problem to have than what our friends across the Atlantic are facing.
