fertility now stands at four births pernMexican woman, according to thenPopulation Reference Bureau innWashington, DC. Even higher fertilitynrates are found in some other LatinnAmerican countries, producing anbountiful supply of immigrants to exportnto the United States.nAmerica has generally welcomednnew immigrants, but a naturally growingnand youthful population can assimilatenan influx of newcomers farnbetter than a nation of childless geriatrics.nNumerous observers believe thatnWestern Europe’s failing birthrates arenthe primary reason that those countriesnhave in recent years virtually closedntheir doors to immigrants. Ethnic animosityntoward foreign “guest workers”nhas become an explosive political issuenin France, while Switzerland is activelyndeporting its resident aliens.nIntensified distrust of foreign immigrantsncounts as only one of the unpleasantnside effects of a depressednbirthrate. One in five Americans isnnow born in poverty, not because thenpoor have so many children, but becausenthe wealthy and middle classesnbear so few. Businessmen also feel thenpinch when the middle class stopsnhaving babies. Writing in AdvertisingnAge recently, Peter Francese warnednthat unless the baby boomers get busynhaving children, the economy will suffernrecessionary consequences. Theneroding base of youthful taxpayers alsondisquiets Social Security and Medicarenofficials. Phillip Longman of Americansnfor Generational Equity now predictsnthat given current fertility trends,n”Medicare won’t be able to meet thenneeds of today’s middle-aged Americansnand their children,” and concludes:n”The trade off between healthncare for the young and the old willnbecome increasingly stark and unavoidable.n”nPerhaps the only winners in thenbaby bust are teenagers looking fornpart-time jobs. Fast-food chains innNew England are now paying as muchnas $6 an hour to woo the decliningnnumber of teens to work. Some Atlantanrestaurants now offer $8 an hour tonattract busboys. But if America’s birthndearth eventually creates a depressedneconomy and a war between immigrantnand native, between the elderlynand the young, then today’s teenagersnwill eventually pay a high price forntheir solid gold McNugget paychecks.n—Bryce ChristensennFreedom House is a distinguishednNew York organization best known fornits activities in monitoring humannrights all over the world. However, it isnalso willing to go further in exploringnthe dimensions of freedom. After organizingna symposium on the USSR thisnspring, at which a representative teamnof Soviet dissidents discussed ways tonmake Gorbachev’s glasnost somethingnmore than an advertising slogan, FreedomnHouse decided to do the same fornthe limbo of Europe—Yugoslavia. InnJune, Freedom House Executive DirectornLeonard Sussman convened anpanel of experts that included MihajlonMihajlov, Yugoslav dissident VladimirnMijanovic, economist Ljubo Sire, andnChronicles’ managing editor.nGommunist, “nonaligned,” “selfmanaging”nYugoslavia, still regardednby the State Department as conducivento U.S. interests in the area, has beennin the throes of a self-inflicted crisisnsince 1945. While Marshal Tito lived,nhis bluster was usually enough to suppressnany truth about it abroad. ButnA)nTito, Gorbachev’s predecessor in glasnost,ndied, and while Yugoslav “openness”nis still as strong as it was 30 yearsnago, few signs of political democratizationnhave been seen to date.nThis may come as news to ElliotnAbrams and other State Departmentnluminaries, but no amount of “destabilizing”nor friendly overture will makena Communist regime cry uncle. Therenis only one answer to President Johnson’snexasperated question, “Whatndoes Ho Chi Minh really want?” Yugoslav,nSoviet, Vietnamese, and NicaraguannCommunists all want the samenthing: the overthrow of “capitalism”nand the institution of Communistnpower over as much of this globe asnpossible.nThe Freedom House symposium onnYugoslavia did privately what nonAmerican administration was willingnto do yet: It gave moral support tondemocratic dissidents in Yugoslavia inntheir quest to help their country becomena true European entity and anfriend of the West.n”Because of their own raeism, whitesnconsider most black men threatening,”nGa/mrata/ati&fi&’on^U^Hi^nyOt/i/ yi/2ma€rsar^n^^oAw 9. ^uca&y ^Srmtm^ (jo-.n(joa/tmiaro, jnari/JcuiclnVnnnSEPTEMBER 19871 7n