Thread: U.S. population hits 300 million

U.S. population hits 300 million
By EUNICE MOSCOSO
Cox News Service
Tuesday, October 10, 2006

WASHINGTON — The Census Bureau is expected to announce this week the birth of the 300 millionth American resident.

That child will be a Hispanic boy born in Los Angeles, predicts Richard Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution in Washington. "What this represents is a return to the melting pot for America," he said.

In 1915, when the U.S. population reached 100 million on the crest of a wave of immigration, most American children were born in large family households in rural communities. The largest group of immigrants came from Germany.

In 1967, when the nation hit the 200 million mark, immigration was low and the nation was more middle class than in 1915, Frey said. Many adults were living in new suburbs and immigrants were mostly from Italy and other European nations.

Today, Hispanic and Asian immigrants are transforming a nation that is becoming more suburban and ethnically diverse. More than 34 million U.S. residents were born somewhere else, the largest number in history.

The racial and ethnic changes are just a few of the monumental shifts in the American experience since 1915, when Woodrow Wilson was president, a gallon of gas cost a quarter, and silent movies captivated the American public.

Since then, the nation's population has moved steadily to the West and South as the economic influence of the industrial Northeast and Midwest has waned.

In addition, Americans have become wealthier, better educated, and older. An average American's life expectancy in 1915 was about 54 years. By 1967, it had jumped to about 70 years and now hovers at almost 78 years, bringing a slew of new opportunities and problems, such as whether Social Security coffers will run out as baby boomers continue to retire.

Some analysts believe that the immigration of young workers is key to maintaining economic stability as the number of people 65 and over has jumped from about 4 million in 1915 to nearly 37 million in 2006.

But others fear that the rapid immigration is contributing to suburban sprawl, overcrowded schools and hospitals, and decreased quality of life for most Americans.

The demographic shift that is transforming the United States started in 1965, when Congress abolished ethnic and racial quotas in immigration.

Two years later, Life magazine officially designated as its 200 millionth American a baby born in Atlanta, Robert Ken Woo Jr., a fourth-generation Chinese-American.

At the time, foreign born people totaled nearly 10 million, or 5 percent of the population.

Since then, a wave of immigration has led to a record 34 million foreign born residents in the United States, or 12 percent of the population. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates that about 11 million are in the country illegally, which has caused a national debate on how to curb the flow of people across the Southern border.

Currently, the largest group of immigrants are from Mexico and other Latin American countries, and their presence is transforming cities and towns across the United States. Hispanic immigrants, previously concentrated in border states as well as in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Illinois, are now migrating to other areas, including the South.

Mexican restaurants and convenience stores called "tiendas" are popping up throughout Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama, as well as enclaves in Idaho, Wisconsin and Indiana.

The influence of Latin immigration has also permeated popular culture. Spanish language television, radio and newspapers are booming as many of their English-language counterparts struggle, while tortilla chips and salsa have become a mainstream American snack advertised during the most sacred of sporting events: the Super Bowl.

In fact, Mexican food — unheard of in most of the country in 1916 and still exotic in places like Ohio and Georgia in 1967 — is almost as common as burgers and fries.

And president Bush last week welcomed Latin pop singer Ana Cristina to the White House to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month.

The number of immigrants from Asia has also increased dramatically since the nation was hovering around 200 million people. In the 1960's Asian immigrants accounted for about 13 percent of total immigrants. They are now about 32 percent.

As a result of immigration and the declining birth rate of white Americans, the country is becoming increasingly Hispanic and Asian and less white.

By 2043, when the Census bureau estimates that the U.S. population will hit the 400 million mark, the nation will be 52 percent white, 22 percent Hispanic, 14 percent black and 7 percent Asian, Frey predicted.

While many say that immigrants are needed to supply labor to the nation — especially in agriculture, service industries, and construction — others are worried that the rapid population growth is ruining the quality of life of Americans.

Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, a group that seeks to curtail high rates of immigration and population growth, said that sprawling cities and encroachment of development into wooded and areas and farmland is increasing traffic congestion and making it difficult for Americans to experience nature.

"Why does the federal government have to force us to live in ever increasing density and sprawl?" Beck said.

Dowell Myers, a demographer at the University of Southern California, said that concern about over-population and suburban sprawl has contributed to a national environmental movement.

Children are growing up recycling cans and plastic bottles and are taught in schools to be concerned about saving whales, he said.

"Population is viewed as having a cost," Myers said. "Cities are spreading into open space and there's more of a consciousness about it."

Meanwhile, the large number of immigrants — including those who entered the United States illegally — has presented unprecedented challenges in many areas.

Many school districts are struggling with how to deal with an influx of students who don't speak English or speak it very little and hospitals in several areas also say they are overwhelmed. Some communities, fed up with illegal immigration, have taken drastic steps locally, including arresting immigrants for "trespassing" in their city or passing laws to punish landlords for renting to illegal immigrants.

In Philadelphia, where descendants of Italian immigrants made the cheese steak sandwich a staple of the city, a shop owner is now demanding that people order them in English.

Marlene Lee, senior policy analyst for the nonprofit Population Reference Bureau in Washington, said that immigrants throughout American history have been met with resistance from native groups.

"In one period of time, you had reservations about Germans immigrating into the United States...in another period of time, you had reservations about Italians. ... People have to adjust to new population groups," she said.

Frey said that the anger about Hispanic immigrants will be temporary and that the national debate on race and ethnicity might be irrelevant by 2043, because of the prevalence of interracial marriage.

He predicts that 20 percent to 30 percent of the population will be interracial by mid-century, throwing current racial categories to the wind.

Besides the demographic changes, Americans have seen a steady shift of the population to the area known as the Sunbelt — the Southern tier of the United States, including Florida, Texas, Arizona, California, and extending as far north as Virginia.

The Census Bureau projects that four in ten Americans will be Southerners by 2030.

The trend has led to the spread of Southern symbols — such as Cajun food, country music and NASCAR — to the rest of the nation. Economically, the South is also influential as the home of such American business icons as Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, UPS and Federal Express.

As U.S. residents have moved South and West, they have also become wealthier and better educated.

The number of Americans who own homes has increased from about 46 percent in 1915 to nearly 69 percent in 2006. During that same time, the number of motor vehicle registrations increased from 2.5 million in 1915 to 237 million in 2006.

In addition, the number of Americans with a high school diploma increased from 13 percent in 1915 to 85 percent this year.

As far as lifestyle, American households have been shrinking from 4.5 people in 1915 to 2.6 people in 2006.

In addition, women and men are delaying marriage more than before and more Americans are living alone or with roommates who are not family members.

In 2005, the nation's gross domestic product reached $12 trillion, up from around $1 trillion in 1970.

The U.S. economy grew faster than usual in part because the labor force grew at a faster rate than in the past thanks to an influx of women and baby boomers, Lee said.

During that same time, the number of women ages 16 and older in the labor force increased from about 41 percent to nearly 60 percent.

Looking to 2043, when the population is predicted to hit 400 million, Frey said that today's diverse, technology-minded young people will bring vitality and independent thinking to boost the United States as it competes with aging European nations.

"The fact that we have this melting pot generation, moving us ahead, will put us in very good stead to be a major player in this global economy," he said.

Eunice Moscoso isa Washington correspondent for Cox Newspapers.

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"The fact that we have this melting pot generation, moving us ahead, will put us in very good stead to be a major player in this global economy," he said.

Gee, I thought we already were a major player in the global economy. When did that change?


The early immigrants came here to be Americans, they wanted to melt in. Most of the illegal immigrants just want to extend their country across our border. BIG DIFFERENCE!