We are facing a population crisis
http://www.postindependent.com/article/ ... /106220026
We are facing a population crisis
Hal Sundin
June 22, 2006
Within the span of a single week last month, three news articles appeared in the local and Denver papers, which have frightening implications. One stated that the State of Colorado had lowered its 2030 population projection for Garfield County from three times the present population of approximately 50,000, to only 21Ú2 times. Only 21Ú2 times? That's 125,000 people. Can you visualize the impact of a population of that magnitude on the infrastructure of Glenwood Springs: the water supply, sewage treatment system, streets and traffic, and our schools? Will the city and the school district be able to find enough money to provide the facilities to serve a population increase of this magnitude? Do we even have enough water, and where are we going to put the traffic lanes to serve such a huge increase in population? It boggles the mind!
The second article reported the projected increase in the population of Colorado, from the present 4.7 million to 7.1 million (more than 50 percent) by 2025. The pressures on the state's resources and the financial strain of trying to provide enough water, schools and highways for a population currently exceeded by only 12 states (all in the East and Midwest, except California and Texas) are almost impossible to imagine.
And then we come to the country as a whole. The population of the United States now stands at 300 million, an increase of more than 20 percent since 1990. At present growth rates, the population of the United States will double in just 70 years. How will we be able to provide the energy and health-care needs, both of which are already at critical levels - or all the other needs - of 600 million people?
So what can we do about the situation? How can we bring our population under control? First, we must secure our borders to stop illegal immigration, and put a limit of 200,000 or less on legal immigration. As recently as 1990, population studies showed that without immigration, the U.S. population would level off somewhere under 350 million, and then slowly decline. It is the huge numbers of immigrants and their high birthrates that are driving our population out of sight.
The third article commented that although Latinos make up less than a quarter of the Denver population, they now account for more than half of the city's births.
The birthrate among Latinos is twice that of the rest of the population. On a national basis, Latinos make up nearly 15 percent of the population. The consequence of these two facts is that even without any new immigration, in one generation Latinos will be 30 percent of the population, and in two generations they will be 60 percent of the population, which by then will approach half a billion - unless we do something about it. This looming population explosion, which threatens the quality of life of the children and grandchildren of American citizens, is a compelling argument in favor of deporting all illegal immigrants. Let me reaffirm that I have no prejudice against Latinos as individuals. What alarms me is their overwhelming numbers.
Much has been said of the need for immigrants to supply the cheap labor that it is claimed our economy needs. Under that theory, there will never be a time when industry will not want more cheap labor, and we will truly be on a "treadmill to oblivion."
We should learn from the experiences of Germany and France. When Germany's economy was booming, it welcomed a flood of "Gastarbeiters" from Turkey. At the same time, the French economy was attracting a massive inflow of Algerians. But now that the European economies are faltering, both countries are confronted with a surplus of labor, resulting in high levels of unemployment among both the immigrants and the unskilled German and French workers who are competing for the same jobs. This is placing a severe financial burden on the people of these countries, and is creating civil unrest. The same thing can happen to us.
Glenwood Springs resident Hal Sundin's column runs every other Thursday in the Post Independent.
Re: We are facing a population crisis
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian503a
We are facing a population crisis
Good article! Yes, we are facing a population crisis that many Americans don't have a clue about. Please, newer members, check out my signature line. We need fewer people in the USA, both legal and illegal, not more, and fewer births although the birth rates that are causing overpopulation are not on the whole coming from US citizens.
Annie
