On Population Decline

 

This is a new topic that people are talking about in the media and rightly so. We could call it a problem. I’m just now too sure about that. Elon Musk certainly thinks so… he posts quite a bit about population decline. Now, I’m not here to get into what an “existential crisis” (I hate this phrase, by the way, as it is always misused) is or to encourage people to have kids. Like most of my blogs, we’re just simply here to observe and examine. We don’t always have to find solutions; at least actively, sometimes they just come about through being deliberate.

            What is the cause of this phenomenon though? Are we just not interested in creating families anymore? I know people still do, but if we look at the numbers, it’s less than it was when I was growing up back in the 90’s. That said, America is a big place so it could vary as to where this is happening. I, however, just want to generalize so that we can simply be informed. So, like any good intellectual, I sought out AI to give me the answers. And come to find out, population in this country is not in decline. In fact, it’s growing; just not because people are having kids. The reason as to why is because of immigration. Makes sense to me. I’m sure the federal government saw this trend long before we did. They are the ones always concerned about taxes, labor, and wars and a country needs people for all of them.

            Yet, what I did find was that people are not having children like they used to in this country. Currently, women average having 1.6 children during their lifetime and 2.1 percent is needed in order to surpass the deaths that occur annually (Grok). So, it seems logical that if we are going to have stability in terms of population, more people would have to be born than others dying. The funny thing is, wouldn’t this trend be unavoidable because of the baby boom of post WWII? So, really, it is only natural that we would have a decline. Yes, people are not having as many children as they used to, but also, more people are dying than records have shown in the past.

            It does make one wonder though. If we aren’t producing enough people, naturally, then what are we to do about all these jobs that are necessary for our way of life to continue as is? Who is going to drive all the trucks so that food is delivered to stores? Who is going to cook in the restaurants? What about gathering all of the resources to build new homes and the like? Well, I guess if there are less people, we won’t have to worry about those things… eventually. And, of course, there is always the option of bringing in foreigners, but there’s no need to discuss that in detail, at least not right now anyway.

            Maybe, just perhaps, those that can have children simply haven’t yet. Typically, people like to settle down when they are comfortable. According to certain trends, that’s also taking a little bit longer. The average age to buy a house thirty years ago was 28yo. Now, that number has risen to 38yo. If people feel they don’t have enough money to raise a child in the proper sense, then they will be less likely to start families. So, it would seem that economic factors are the root cause of these trends and not anything sociopolitical. Still though, some of these economic disparities may be rooted in shifts between gender roles.

            For the first time in this nation’s history, women are the majority homeowners. What connection would this have with a growing family though? Are men not getting the jobs they use to in order to provide for a family? Has career idealism replaced the nuclear family? These are all very important questions in regards to sustaining population. Maybe we just don’t have time for kids these days.

             All in all, it goes back to the longevity of America. How long can we sustain ourselves? What industry are most job openings found? I’ll never believe that life is better without having children because the track record speaks for itself. But what were past civilizations doing before us that staved off such a new concern for humanity? All the while, people are falling in love, getting married, and buying a dog. Let’s just hope that Rex can start operating heavy machinery sooner rather than later.