300,000,000. A huge number, almost unfathomable for most people, but it is now the number of people in the US. Just thinking about 300 million people will cause doomsday scenarios to play through most people’s heads, but the fact of the matter is for the US a growing population is more of a blessing than a curse.
While most developing nations are having problems controlling their rampant growth (Niger’s fertility rate is 7.46 and Yemen’s is 6.85), developed nations are having the opposite problem. The EU’s fertility rate is 1.4, but that number hides some of the lower fertility rates. Italy’s fertility rate was just 1.28 last year. With the replacement population fertility rate (the rate to keep population constant) at 2.1 children per household, most developed nations are suffering from shrinking populations.
The US is right at the replacement population fertility rate, so continued population growth is mostly due to immigration.
But do we want to keep growing? Yes, rising populations put a strain on the government and health care systems. Yes, more people mean more consumption, more waste, and more environmental concerns.
On the other hand, the US needs a larger population of young people. When the baby boomers retire there will be three workers for every retiree, it will certainly be quite a burden, but many other developed countries the ratio is lower still.
The US also has the capability to grow. We have land and other resources that will allow the nation to continue growing; we have structures in place to allow for growth, we can do it... Indeed, we can't afford not to.
