The Underpopulation Crisis
Building Tomorrow
00:00
Why Is Population Decline a Problem?
The U.S. economy and society are structured around the assumption of constant population expansion, writes John Sutter. By 2035 Social Security won't be able to cover promised payments because ratio of present workers to past retirees has grown too large, he says. If US population actually falls by as much as our top line fertility rate would indicate, we'll be positively nostalgic for a time when we only cut benefits by 20%. That might sound like a bit of a reach, but bear in mind what happened to the last empire before post-World War II rise of Pax Americana: British Empire.
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