by
Jim Pinto
This month, the US population officially topped
300 million. By 2050 there will be 400 million Americans. This surge brings
unprecedented challenges and remarkable opportunities.
Today, the US stands out as the only leading industrial power with a surging
population. (India may be the only other) Because of immigration and higher
birth rates, the US population is now growing 2 or 3 times faster than any other
major country, far faster than China's (which is strongly controlled). Other
major countries like Russia, Japan and Germany, are already starting to lose
population.
This shift in population trends will directly impact economies, from the
growth of the work force to consumption patterns. And it will put unprecedented
stress on pension and health systems. The US will also be aging, but less faster
than most of Europe.
Some think that America's changing racial mix will cause problems. They worry
that the emergence of a "majority minority" population will see the end
traditional Anglo-Saxon values, replaced by pockets of ethnic communities. But
the opposite is true - most immigrants want experience "the American dream", not
duplicate the conditions they left behind. Studies indicate that most immigrants
integrate into the American mainstream, both linguistically and culturally.
Indeed, the "eclectic" mix is America's strength.
We need to deal with the future by doing the things that Americans have
always done - building new infrastructure, giving people the opportunity to work
and take care of themselves and their families. Most major surges of economic
growth and population have been stimulated by such investments - canals in the
early 19th century; railroads during the industrial age; roads, bridges and
electrification 50 years ago. We need to commit ourselves to building new
infrastructure: more universal high-capacity broadband, better drainage systems,
new electric transmission lines and renewable energy sources, better roads and
innovative forms of public transit.
Building toll roads or super-fast trains between burgeoning Texan or
Californian cities offers far better prospects than doing the same in Japan or
Germany, whose populations are gradually diminishing.
My old friend Joel Kotkin writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal and
many other major newspapers and journals. He wrote an excellent and
thought-provoking article (WSJ - October 2006) summarized here.
Cheers,
Jim Pinto
jim@jimpinto.com
San Diego, CA. USA
