A few random observations, charts and factoids to provide some context on what is going on in the world.
Births Continue To Fall
Births in the United States continue to fall.
This graphic shows the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for each state for the first six months of 2026.
The United States is now at a 1.55 TFR overall.
2.1 children per woman is necessary to maintain a stable population.
South Dakota is the only state that is above 2.0.
The District of Columbia is at 1.02.
It is notable that liberal states such as Rhode Island (1.25), Massachusetts (1.30), Vermont (1.34), Oregon (1.35) and California (1.39) are among the states with the lowest birth rates.
California's TFR has cratered despite a large Hispanic population that has generally favored larger families.
California now has a lower TFR than Connecticut.
Conservative states like South Dakota (2.08), North Dakota (1.90), Idaho (1.87), Nebraska (1.87) and Oklahoma (1.79) have the most births. In fact, you generally see higher birth rates across the entirety of the U.S. heartland except for liberal states Colorado and Illinois.
Demography is destiny.
YouTube vs. Netflix
Netflix is losing big time to YouTube.
What is also interesting about this data is that it indicates that about one quarter of all tv viewing time is spent on one of these two platforms.
The Greatest Acquisitions of All Time
The graph above also explains why Google's acquisition of YouTube has proven to be one of the greatest acquisitions of all time.
Google paid $1.65 billion for YouTube in 2006 in an all stock deal.
YouTube is now worth over $160 billion on its own.
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| Source: https://x.com/QCompounding/status/2106807331799302253 |
In pure dollar terms, Google's acquisition of DoubleClick, an online advertising company, in 2008 has produced $183 billion in additional value.
However, it is hard to beat Facebook's return on investment on its acquisition of Instagram in 2012.
A $1 billion purchase is now a company worth over $175 billion.
Data Centers and the Economy
Data centers have become a popular target in this political season.
What is not in dispute is the degree to which they have become indispensable to our economy.
Consider this graph that shows changes in construction spending in 2026.
Data center construction is responsible for an enormous number of blue collar and construction jobs right now.
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| Credit: https://x.com/StephenMoore/status/2108607669527588877 |
Attempting to curtail data center development today would be akin to trying to stop railroad development in the late 1800's, electrification in the early 1900's or the internet in the late 1900's.
It is unquestionably the engine for future economic growth.
Political Ads
If you think you have never seen too many political ads, you are not mistaken.
2026 midterm ad spending is on track to even eclipse ad spending in 2024.
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| Credit: https://brucemehlman.substack.com/p/six-chart-sunday-campaign-ads-in |
It is projected that more will be spent on political advertising this year than on all Super Bowls ads COMBINED since 1967.
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| Credit: https://brucemehlman.substack.com/p/six-chart-sunday-campaign-ads-in |
I cringe when I turn on the television in Ohio due to the number of political ads I know I will have to endure.
I have a hard time imagining what it is like in Maine.
$419 in political ads for every adult in the state?
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| Credit: https://brucemehlman.substack.com/p/six-chart-sunday-campaign-ads-in |
November 3 cannot come soon enough.
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