In the first half, demographer and generational marketing expert Ken Gronbach discussed trends and changes we can expect over the next 30 years in the US and around the world. One of the biggest demographic blunders was made by China when they instituted their one-child policy around 1979, he stated. Though they ended this in 2015, "it was too late because they are already missing a half billion people under 40 years old, which is why China is failing right now," Gronbach continued. Japan also has dire population numbers, with around 10 million housing units going unoccupied, he added. And though India currently has a larger populace than China, he does not see them becoming a world economic power, as they are held back by poverty and undeveloped areas.
Because the population is strong in the United States (partially due to immigration) as well as in Mexico and South & Central America, he sees this part of the world gaining in strength in the years ahead, with much manufacturing returning to these countries. While America has a considerable population of younger people (by 2024, there will be 170 million aged 40 or younger), the baby boomers (currently 59 to 78 years old) will be the largest generation to retire and become seniors. Because of this, there will be a boom in healthcare fields and possible medical breakthroughs to defeat cancer and heart disease due to older people funding the research, he suggested. Right now, there is a housing shortage in the US, with Millennials and Generation Z looking to get into the market, and Gronbach predicts that multi-family units will really take off.
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In the latter half, author Sarah Chana talked about the therapeutic value of colors, how we relate to them, and their relationship with the world around us. She also presented her findings on herbs and oils and how they can help us with everyday health. With the fall season and Thanksgiving, she highlighted the color orange, which she said has calming and soothing qualities and can also be invigorating, passionate, and warm. People can benefit from this color by eating orange vegetables, which keep us warm and full, and by wearing orange clothes in your wardrobe.
Other ways to bring orange into your life include having orange items in your home, painting walls orange, or burning orange candles that create a warm glow. When it comes to orange foods, she noted that pumpkin has many good features, and pumpkin oil, in particular, can lower cholesterol, reduce menopausal symptoms, and moisturize the skin. Turmeric, the orange herb or spice, helps reduce inflammation and stress, Chana detailed. She also revealed how other colors can affect us, such as whites being cooling, yellows inspiring, and purples increasing self-esteem, and how certain herbs can help build up our immunity (she offers a free handout on this via her website).
News segment guests: John M. Curtis, Catherine Austin Fitts