Greece plans to spend 20 billion euros to halt ‘national threat’ of population decline

Demographer and data analyst Stephen Shaw has said that ‘no society in history has been known to come out of’ the ‘spiral’ of population decline.

Greece plans to spend 20 billion euros on economic incentives aimed at halting the country’s population decline, which Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called a “national threat.”

The nation that has been referred to as the “cradle of civilization” now has a fertility rate of 1.3, one of the lowest in Europe, and far below the rate of 2.1 that is needed to maintain the population.

In fact, the country now has twice as many deaths as it has births. Last year, Mitsotakis shared during a demographics conference that Greece recorded one birth for every two deaths in 2022.

On September 30, a demographic plan to incentivize having children, totaling 20 billion euros, was presented to Greece’s government. The money will be spent on tax breaks, day care vouchers as well as the establishment of day care centers in workplaces, and cash benefits rewards for raising children. Families with three or more children will receive greater compensation.

Family and Social Cohesion Minister Sofia Zacharaki said on October 2 that “the ultimate goal” of the plan “is to improve the standard of living.”

She noted that, according to current forecasts, by 2070 the biggest population group will be people over 90 years old.

The country is one of many undergoing different phases of population decline headed toward collapse. Greece’s particularly low birth rate may be further exacerbated by the economic hardships plaguing the country, which in July had the second-highest unemployment rate in the EU.

Demography experts such as data analyst Stephen Shaw, the creator of the documentary “Birthgap,” are skeptical about whether economic incentives can reverse the trend of population decline. He has noted that even the Roman Empire, in its later stages, enacted policies aimed at increasing birth rates, including taxing the childless.

According to Shaw, “No society in history has been known to come out of” the “spiral” of population decline.

This trend of childlessness began to crop up in the 1970s. For example, in Japan in 1974, one in 20 women were childless. By 1977, the ratio was 1 in 4, and by 1990, it had reached 1 in 3, a statistic that held in 2020. Shaw has shared that most countries have likewise now become “childless nations,” where one-third or more people will become “childless for life.”

It is notable that the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) confirmed in December 2022 that the majority of childless women actually desire children. Delayed childbearing, and as Shaw commented in his film, failing to “find the right partner at the right time” are major factors contributing to the childlessness explosion.

Commentators such as Elon Musk have warned that if global birth rates continue to decline at their current projected rates, “human civilization will end.”

Related Topics:#EmilyMangiaracina #LifeSiteNews BirthRate GreeceBirthrate PopulationDecline

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Suspected ambush leaves two firefighters dead in Idaho

Crime

Suspected ambush leaves two firefighters dead in Idaho

Published on June 30, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

Two firefighters were killed and another wounded Sunday after a gunman opened fire on first responders tackling a blaze near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The shooter was later found dead, and authorities believe the fire may have been set to lure crews into an ambush.

Key Details:

The ambush began around 2 p.m. local time as fire crews arrived at a brush fire and were met with sniper-style gunfire from a wooded area.
SWAT teams located the deceased suspect roughly five hours later, with a weapon nearby. His identity has not yet been released.
The Kootenai County Sheriff said the ongoing fire could not be addressed during the gunfight, calling the attack a “heinous direct assault” on first responders.

Diving Deeper:

A deadly ambush on Sunday afternoon left two Idaho firefighters dead and a third injured after they were shot while attempting to contain a brush fire on Canfield Mountain. The surprise attack reportedly began around 2 p.m., when bullets suddenly rained down on emergency crews from hidden positions in the wooded terrain near Coeur d’Alene.

Authorities now believe the blaze may have been deliberately set as bait. Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris described the situation as “an active sniper attack,” saying the scene quickly escalated into chaos with gunfire coming from multiple directions.

“We don’t know if there’s one, two, three or four [shooters],” Norris said in an early evening press conference. “I’m hoping that someone has a clear shot and is able to neutralize [the suspect], because they’re not showing any signs of surrendering.”

Roughly five hours after the first shots were fired, SWAT officers found a body next to a firearm along the Canfield Mountain Trail. Authorities have not confirmed whether the individual was the sole assailant, nor have they publicly identified the person. The FBI, along with state and local agencies, had been deployed to the scene to assist with the operation.

The two firefighters who died have not yet been named. The third, who sustained a gunshot wound, was transported to Kootenai Health and remains hospitalized. His current condition is unknown.

The firefight effectively halted efforts to contain the brush fire, which remained active late into Sunday. “It’s going to keep burning. We can’t put any resources on it right now,” Norris said during the standoff. Shelter-in-place orders were issued for the surrounding area, including the popular Canfield Mountain Trailhead, but those restrictions were lifted after the suspect was found dead.

Idaho Governor Brad Little reacted to the tragedy on social media, calling the ambush “a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters.” He added, “Teresa and I are heartbroken. I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.”

Federal and local officials are continuing to investigate the incident, including the origins of the fire and whether additional suspects may have been involved.

Business

Trump on Canada tariff deadline: ‘We can do whatever we want’

Published on June 29, 2025

Todayville

From The Center Square

By Brett Rowland

President Donald Trump appears unconcerned about an upcoming tariff deal deadline after abruptly ending all trade talks with Canada as his bid to overhaul world trade continues.

Trump is nearing the end of a self-imposed 90-day deadline to strike deals with nearly every U.S. trading partner as he works to reorder global trade by giving America a competitive advantage through tariffs on foreign goods.

Trump now says that the deadline could be extended past July 9 or even accelerated.

“We can do whatever we want. We could extend it, we could make it shorter. I’d like to make it shorter,” Trump said Friday at the Oval Office. “I’d like to just send letters out to everyone ‘Congratulations, you’re paying 25%.'”

On April 2, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on nearly every nation that trades with the U.S. Seven days later, he paused those higher tariff rates for 90 days to give his trade team time to cut deals with key trading partners. That 90-day deadline ends July 9 and thus far Trump has brought home two deals: A limited trade pact with the United Kingdom and a trade truce with China.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg that new deals are on the way, and those could serve as models for others.

“We’re going to do top 10 deals, put them in the right category, and then these other countries will fit behind,” Lutnick said.

He said the U.S. was “close to the finish line” with India. Lutnick also said he had made an offer to the European Union.

Trump’s decision to suspend trade talks with Canada with just days left before the deadline underscored the flexibility of the president’s trade deadline.

“These are very complex negotiations and we are going to continue them in the best interests of Canadians,” Candian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday while leaving his office, according to local reports.

Canada has invariably been one of the top two trading partners for the United States for years. In 2024, Canada was the top destination for U.S. exports and the third-largest source of U.S. imports. On the other side, Canada exported 75% of its goods to the United States and imported almost half of its goods from the United States.

U.S. total goods trade with Canada was an estimated $762.1 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. U.S. goods exports to Canada in 2024 were $349.4 billion. U.S. imports from Canada in 2024 totaled $412.7 billion. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada was $63.3 billion in 2024.

Services trade with Canada, exports and imports, totaled an estimated $140.3 billion in 2023. Services exports were $86.0 billion, and services imports were $54.3 billion. The U.S. services trade surplus with Canada was $31.7 billion in 2023, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Shortly after taking office in January, Trump hit Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs for allowing fentanyl and migrants to cross their borders into the U.S. Trump later applied those 25% tariffs only to goods that fall outside the free-trade agreement between the three nations, called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Trump put a stop to the talks on Friday.

“We have just been informed that Canada, a very difficult Country to TRADE with, including the fact that they have charged our Farmers as much as 400% Tariffs, for years, on Dairy Products, has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump said the digital services tax was a copy of a European Union proposal.

“Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately,” the president said. “We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period.”

Earlier this month, the two nations seemed close to striking a deal.

Trump said he and Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney had different trade concepts between the two neighboring countries during a meeting at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, in the Canadian Rockies.

Asked what was holding up a trade deal between the two nations at that time, Trump said they had different concepts for what that would look like.

“It’s not so much holding up, I think we have different concepts, I have a tariff concept, Mark has a different concept, which is something that some people like, but we’re going to see if we can get to the bottom of it today.”

Trump put a 10% tariff on non-USMCA compliant potash and energy products. A 50% tariff on aluminum and steel imports from all countries into the U.S. has been in effect since June 4. Trump also put a 25% tariff on all cars and trucks not built in the U.S.

The tariffs have frustrated Canadian leaders and residents. Tensions between the two neighboring countries have been high. And cities on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border have been affected.

Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada join the U.S. as its 51st state. He previously called former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “governor” regularly.