The aging world and the shrinking workforce - Here's an interesting - and terrifying - statistic from a Weekly Standard article titled "The Demographic Cliff": at its current fertility rate, Japan will lose more than half its population by 2100.

All across the world, birth rates are insufficient to replace the population much less support the considerable costs of a nation of retirees.  So far the United States has stayed ahead of the curve until now: "U.S. birth rate falls to record low."

And here's a further sign-of-the-times: Santa Claus is disappearing from malls.  Not enough kids.