We are often told about the problem of overpopulation. It seems everywhere you look today, some news article is talking about the massive drain on resources that the worlds population currently is. We are killing our forests, depleting our natural resources, and the world simply is not big enough to support humanity any more.
Not only is this idea simply not true, it is used to justify, and often praise, immoral acts.
Bill Nye, a popular children’s show host and comedian, recently praised Planned Parenthood for addressing the “issue” of overpopulation. He put forth the idea that abortion was a solution to overpopulation and climate change [1]. He congratulated and praised Planned Parenthood on the 330,000 abortions they perform annually.
All in the name of curbing “explosive population growth” [1].
Is it true? Is overpopulation a catastrophic problem that is quickly killing the planet as we know it? Science says otherwise.
Archeological evidence has always suggested that humanity adapts to meet new demands. Ancient technology and agricultural science could support far less than the population of today. Some estimate that prehistoric earth could not support a population over 100 million [2].
Today we have a population 70 times that.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that by 2050 over nine billion people can be supported [2]. As the population rises, new technology and agriculture ensures that resource production rises to meet the need. The evidence is quite clear that humanity has always found new ways to support a bigger and growing population.
But are these fears completely unfounded? Well no, not entirely.
A huge problem in the world today is not overpopulated countries, but overcrowded cities. Many people tend to flock to cities for the diverse opportunities that they offer. This creates a problem because “there are too many people trying to fill these small confines of city life” [3]. This causes poverty to skyrocket and natural resources to drop dangerously low in these areas.
Studies show that a low population is incredibly dangerous to a country. A dropping population means that the workforce must work harder to maintain the current economic standards. Wealth is consolidated, creating a bigger poverty gap. And social issues and inequality are more easily entrenched [4].
Already many Americans are concerned about the status of Social Security, which is estimated to be depleted by 2035 [5]. This problem occurs because more people than ever are taking out of Social Security, but our low population workforce means less people are putting in. And as pensions are disappearing, more and more people will be relying on Social Security [5].
Is there a solution to this? The payroll tax for Social Security could increase. But this would increase the burden on working Americans, making the problem much worse in the long run. The only real solution to the issue of Social Security (and the principle it was founded on) is to have more people paying into the system than taking out.
In 1940, there was a 159.2 ratio of covered workers (putting in) to beneficiaries (taking out). Today, that ratio has dropped to 2.8 [6]. If you are a working age American, this should heavily concern you. And unless you want American tax rates to skyrocket in the coming years, there really is only one thing to do:
Have kids.
To be fair, the U.S. fertility rate has been on the rise recently. The average American woman had 2.07 kids in 2016, which was an 11% increase from 2006 [7]. Which is great news for our economy and our country, but that number must increase to meet the demand of our dwindling population.
In conclusion, dwindling resources are becoming a huge issue. People are, and always have been, our greatest resource. If we do not throw these absurd notions of overpopulation away and start working to address the problem, it will continue to get worse until the carpet is pulled out from underneath us.
The myth of overpopulation is killing America.
[1] Huff, Ethan. “Fake Scientist Bill Nye Went From Educating Children To Advocating Their Murder: He’s Now Speaking For Planned Parenthood And Pushing Population Control.” Science News. N. p., 2018. Web. 25 June 2018.
[2] Ellis, Erle. “Opinion | Overpopulation Is Not the Problem.” Nytimes.com. N. p., 2014. Web. 25 June 2018.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/opinion/overpopulation-is-not-the-problem.html
[3] Simpson, Caysi. “Poverty In The World’s Most Overpopulated Cities | The Borgen Project.” The Borgen Project. N. p., 2018. Web. 25 June 2018.
https://borgenproject.org/most-overpopulated-cities/
[4] Stone, Lyman. “The US Needs More Babies, More Immigrants, And More Integration.” Vox. N. p., 2017. Web. 25 June 2018.
[5] Huddleston, Cameron. “Social Security Is Running Out Fast — And No One Is Going To Like The Solution.” Business Insider. N. p., 2018. Web. 25 June 2018.
http://www.businessinsider.com/social-security-is-running-out-and-no-one-will-like-the-solution-2017-7
[6] “Social Security History.” Ssa.gov. N. p., 2018. Web. 25 June 2018.
https://www.ssa.gov/history/ratios.html
[7] Luscombe, Belinda. “No, All Those Strollers Aren’t Your Imagination. More Women Are Having Children” Time. N. p., 2018. Web. 25 June 2018.
http://time.com/5107704/more-women-mothers/
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