Right population for the US.
Seven Taboo Political Subjects #1:
The Politics:
Can you imagine a United States politician eager to wade into the swamp, and declare we should manage our population to peak at 350M? Or 250M? Or any other number?
Of course, every race, religion and political party would scream genocide. Or dark cabals. Or argue a smaller population is less innovative. Or that population control is counter to god’s plan. Or that a low population target is a ruse to discourage immigration. Or, …
So we avoid the topic entirely.
The Reality:
Once birth control became widely available (along with lower rates of poverty and infant mortality), family sizes declined world-wide. But our economy, and our governmental structure, remains tied to growth at all costs.
In fact, our vibrant US economy is nothing more than a vast, corrosive Ponzi scheme. Population growth deposits people and energy at the bottom of the pyramid, to support those with disproportionally greater demands at the top. Immigration fills the remaining jobs nobody wants. Chronic expenses like pensions, healthcare and infrastructure *appear* manageable today, only because indirect subsidies from population growth allows those costs to be deferred beyond the political horizon. But the pyramid may soon morph into an urn, upending the Ponzi scheme:
Population drives energy use, agricultural subsidies, school class size and retirement plans, and even the Electoral College. Do we simply throw up our hands and let “nature take its course”, allowing population to rise unchecked, and simply manage against projections? Is there an optimal and “right” population for the country? Or an optimal and right growth rate?
And how do we transition from the current Ponzi scheme to a more stable and affordable future, where each generation carries its own load? Government limits to family size? Incentives to have children? Allocations by state, or race, or religion, or financial assets?
How can you wisely govern without a firm target for population?
Any pro-active decision seems distasteful but sidestepping this most fundamental issue while there is still time to consider a fair policy, is equally morally bankrupt. Reality won’t disappear simply because you can’t look facts in the eye.
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