By: Daniel Nardini
According to the Pew Research Center, the U.S. birth rate is at the lowest since 1920. From 2007 to 2010, the birth rate dropped to 63.2 births out of 1,000 women of childbearing age. In 1957, the birth rate was 122.7 births out of 1,000 women of childbearing age. This makes the current birth rate one of the lowest recorded. The birth rate for immigrant women in the United States was somewhat higher, but not significantly so. There are a number of factors why the birth rate is so low. One of course is the current recession. It is a theoretical truth that when economic times are bad, families tend to have less or no children at all. Another factor is that because many families are finding it harder to make ends meet, the priority will be on trying to make ends meet, and waiting for better times before couples can have children. However, with fewer children having been born within the last generation, it means that there are less young adults of the current generation compared to the Baby Boom generation from 1945 to 1961.
With the first of the Baby Boom generation having either retired now or are currently retiring, this is already placing a huge economic burden on not only this generation but the next generation. When most of the Baby Boom generation starts to retire, it will mean that there will not be enough numbers of the current generation being able to pay taxes or anything else to take care of the Baby Boom generation. Just as equally bad are America’s immigration laws that have restricted immigration. With less immigrants able to come to this country, it means that not only will families not be reunited, but that people who are needed for America’s growing technology and social service sectors will not be there. With America’s more restrictive and contradictory immigration laws, it will mean that those people who could help to off-set the shrinking American birth rate will simply not be there. Immigrants with the qualifications, skills, expertise in certain fields, and money will still be hitting a wall of red tape and bureaucracy that will probably force them to go elsewhere.
This country cannot afford to lose such prospective immigrants, and cannot afford to let the population decline when we will have so many old people to take care of. The Baby Boom generation helped in building this country, but at the current rate of America’s low birth rate there simply will be no one to take care of such a large senior population. Despite what some zero birth and immigration advocates may believe, this country still very much needs immigrants and immigration. Unless the birth rate goes up dramatically, or if far more immigrants are allowed in legally, this country’s population will stagnate and then decline dangerously. The question is how to reform the idiotic immigration system to help benefit this country and our people?
The American Birth Rate Shrinking
By: Daniel Nardini
With the first of the Baby Boom generation having either retired now or are currently retiring, this is already placing a huge economic burden on not only this generation but the next generation. When most of the Baby Boom generation starts to retire, it will mean that there will not be enough numbers of the current generation being able to pay taxes or anything else to take care of the Baby Boom generation. Just as equally bad are America’s immigration laws that have restricted immigration. With less immigrants able to come to this country, it means that not only will families not be reunited, but that people who are needed for America’s growing technology and social service sectors will not be there. With America’s more restrictive and contradictory immigration laws, it will mean that those people who could help to off-set the shrinking American birth rate will simply not be there. Immigrants with the qualifications, skills, expertise in certain fields, and money will still be hitting a wall of red tape and bureaucracy that will probably force them to go elsewhere.
This country cannot afford to lose such prospective immigrants, and cannot afford to let the population decline when we will have so many old people to take care of. The Baby Boom generation helped in building this country, but at the current rate of America’s low birth rate there simply will be no one to take care of such a large senior population. Despite what some zero birth and immigration advocates may believe, this country still very much needs immigrants and immigration. Unless the birth rate goes up dramatically, or if far more immigrants are allowed in legally, this country’s population will stagnate and then decline dangerously. The question is how to reform the idiotic immigration system to help benefit this country and our people?