Census Bureau: Whites now account for under half of U.S. births

By Richard K. Barry 

The New York Times is reporting one of those newsy little bits that makes you think about long-term electoral implications: "After years of speculation, estimates and projections, the Census Bureau has made it official: White births are no longer a majority in the United States."

"Minorities" -- which include Hispanics, blacks, Asians, and those of mixed race -- have reached 50.4%.

It's certainly true that whites will remain in the majority for some time, but times are changing. And, while facile assumptions about what this might mean at the ballot box in the distant future may not be very helpful, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Republicans are probably not that happy with the trend.

One thing that is not a guess is an observation made by Dowell Meyers, a demography professor at USC: "If the U.S. depended on white births alone, we'd be dead. Without the contribution from all these groups, we would become too top heavy with old people."

Can't argue with that.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)