America's Population Peak

Hi, today we explore: (1) The NYT just hit a subscriber milestone, (2) America's population looks set to peak in 2080, (3) Big vs. small business. TOGETHER WITH Today's Topics Hello! Ahead of Veterans Day, we'd like to honor those who served and those who are currently serving — thank you for your bravery and sacrifice. Today we explore: - Unprecedented Times: The NYT just hit a major milestone. - Booming out: America's population could peak this century. - Big Vs. Small: US consumers are in a business bind. Have feedback for us? Just hit reply — we'd love to hear from you! [Read this on the web instead]( At Chartr, we’re committed to protecting the privacy of your data, so we wanted to let you know that we’ve made some changes to our [Privacy Notice]( today. We want to be as transparent and open as possible about the use of your data. We want to make it clear to you what info we need, why we need it and what we do with it. You can read the updated notice [here](. Good Times Shares in the New York Times Company jumped some 6% on Wednesday after the media giant reported that it had passed the 10 million subscriber mark, creeping closer to its target of hitting 15 million subs [by 2027]( with sales also up 9.3% year-over-year. The NYT, like the [Financial Times]( saw print subscriptions slump in the last quarter — though the 172-year-old paper more than made up for this drop by adding over 800,000 digital-only readers / gamers / sports fans in the last year, as it continues to refresh [its offerings](. A booming subscriber business leaves the NYT less exposed to the fickle nature of advertising, which accounted for less than 20% of its revenue in Q3. The Times it is a-changin' The Gray Lady’s certainly growing old gracefully, thanks to a few acquisitions in recent years: it picked up trendy sports outlet The Athletic in [January 2022]( for example, and bought the viral — [if fading]( — game Wordle in the same month. Forays into dedicated cooking, online games, and consumer recommendation products (like Wirecutter) have helped to broaden the digital appeal of the news org — a strategy that CEO Meredith Kopit Levien [labels]( “multiproduct bundles”. Booming out? The post-WWII baby boom — which, at the time, spurred fears of [overpopulation]( — is now a very distant memory, as new analysis suggests that America could face the [opposite problem]( moving into the 2100s. While a slight acceleration in population growth was observed in 2022, up from the slowest rate on record the year prior, projections out this week from the Census Bureau see America’s long streak of expansion grinding to a halt by the 21st century’s end. Indeed, the US population could be shrinking by as early as 2080, after peaking at 369 million, in the bureau’s [central scenario](. Make America Grow Again This marks the first time that the bureau has forecast a decline for the coming decades — with the only other recorded population decline in the US occurring in 1918, amidst a deadly Spanish flu outbreak and a World War. By contrast with 2015’s and 2018’s optimistic outlooks, the stark shift in 2023’s projection reflects a decline in birth rates, higher death rates (due to an increasingly aging population, as well a COVID-related spike), and a reliance on immigration as a [driving factor]( for growth. With America's well of young workers expected to dry up as a result of these determining forces, it's easy to imagine the US economy bearing the brunt of a smaller society — like [Japan]( [Italy]( and many other countries. [Sponsored by Surfshark]( Smartphone users in America get an average 46 notifications per day. That’s a lot of reminders, messages and deals — enough to distract from what’s really going on with your data. The shark on your side Surfshark Alert gives you a notification that counts. If your passwords, credit card info or ID become compromised in a data leak, [Surfshark Alert]( pings you instantly so that you’re the first to know. With so much talk about data security, the list of protections gets longer…from VPNs to virus scanners. It’s simpler with Surfshark — Alert is just one tool included in [Surfshark One]( the end-to-end cybersecurity protection. Also featuring the award-winning Surfshark VPN, Anti-virus, Search and Alternative ID, [Surfshark One]( is as sophisticated as it gets for data protection. And for a limited-time [Black Friday offer]( you can get 85% off Surfshark One + 4 free months when you purchase a 2-year plan. [Get 85% off + 4 free months of Surfshark One]( Antitrust-worthy Google can’t stop catching antitrust cases: the search giant is now battling Fortnite maker Epic Games over its Play Store in court, while simultaneously defending ongoing monopoly allegations from the Justice Department [in Washington](. Antitrust laws exist to stop companies from dominating the market to the detriment of consumers, and the US population is — for the most part — right behind them, with some 69% of Americans “strongly or somewhat” supporting the competition-encouraging legislation, according to recent [YouGov data](. The size paradox Although the election cycle will likely bring about much talk of small business as “the backbone of the American economy”, and see politicians make various promises to keep bigger corporations in check, there’s a discrepancy at the heart of the business size debate. The same survey also reveals a classic paradox of the big vs. small argument: we love small businesses, but we also can’t get enough of the lower prices offered by industry behemoths. Indeed, while Americans view smaller companies more positively in environmental, ethical, and even wider economic terms, they just can’t compete against the titans on prices, with 44% of Americans agreeing that big companies charge less. More Data • Lights, camera, back in action: following 118 days of strikes, [SAG-AFTRA]( reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood’s major studios and streamers on Wednesday — now all 160,000 members of the union can return to learning their lines. • According to [Surfshark]( 16.5B accounts have been breached globally since 2004 — meaning every email address is breached around 3 times. Surfshark Alert keeps you one step ahead by notifying you if your personal data is compromised — [see Black Friday deals on Surfshark]( • Race to the bottom: the Colombian government is stepping up its efforts to recover a shipwreck that could contain up to $20 billion worth of [treasure](. • The future of wearables is here, and it's... an [AI Pin]( that wants to replace the basic tasks of voice assistants (and costs $699). • TikTok has reportedly been telling advertisers that #Israel is trending, but not #Palestine — despite the latter tag racking up 2x as many posts [on the platform]( according to Semafor. **This is sponsored content. Hi-Viz • Paying too much for rent? Check out the cities with the lowest (and highest) [cost of living](. • Charting the shift in skin tones for Lego minifigures away from [traditional yellow](. Off the charts: Support for ____ has hit an all-time high? [Answer below]. [Answer here](. Thanks for reading. See you on Sunday for our deep dive! 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