USA Today’s front page article “Rise seen in births to illegal dwellers” huffs “The total number of children in the USA born to illegal immigrants on U. S. soil jumped to 4 million in 2009, up from 2.78 million in 2003, a report released Wednesday estimates. Those children – who are automatically granted U. S. citizenship – represents 5.4% of all children under the age of 18 in the U. S.”
Something should be done to stop excessive legal and illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America, right? Why should we allow our demographics, our culture, and perhaps our grand children to be placed at risk?
Well here is some shocking advice: If you want a comfortable retirement, throw open the Mexican border!
According to Wikipedia and based upon government studies: “The United States Is Getting Older. Aside from the total size, one of the most important demographic characteristics of a population for public policy is its age and sex structure. This report illustrates how the United States has been in the midst of a profound demographic change: the rapid aging of its population, as reflected by an increasing proportion of persons aged 65 and older, and an increasing median age in the population.”
According to a Heritage Foundation report: “Social Security Spending Soon to Rise Rapidly: As the population ages, the cost to the federal government of running the Social Security program, which Americans workers pay into their whole lives, will skyrocket. This trend is made crystal clear in Heritage’s recently published 2010 Budget Chart Book. Social Security experienced red ink in 2009, and is on course to do so again in 2010—Heritage’s David John writes that ‘If there is a strong economic recovery — which is questionable at best — the program could briefly return to surpluses. But by 2016, deficits will return and continue permanently.’”
A Congressional report finds: “The population of the United States had been relatively ‘young’ in the first half of the 20th century, a consequence of a history of three demographic trends acting inconcert — relatively high fertility, declining infant and childhood mortality, and high rates of net immigration to the United States by young workers and families. Since 1950, the United States has been in the midst of a profound demographic change: rapid population aging, a phenomenon that is replacing the earlier ‘young’ age-sex structure with that of an older population.”
It continues: “By year 2050, projections of the U.S. population suggest that the population ‘pyramid’ will no longer resemble a Christmas tree; rather, it will be increasingly rectangular. In this population of 420.1 million persons, the most striking feature is the projected number of people who will be aged 65 and older — 86.7 million, just over one in every five persons in the total U.S. population.”
The report also points out: “Fertility is slighting under the ‘replacement level’ in 2003, for the32nd consecutive year. In 2003, there were, on average, 2.042 births per U.S. woman, with total fertility rates below the replacement level for most groups of women. However, rates for American women of Mexican origin (2.958) and ‘other’ Hispanics (2.733) were above replacement. Many European and Asian countries or regions have levels of fertility that are considerably lower than in the United States For instance, Macao SAR (0.84), Hong Kong (0.94), Ukraine (1.12), Czech Republic (1.17), and Slovakia (1.20) are all well below replacement.”
The significance of all of this: If you are in your early fifties or younger and want to be able to enjoy the same Social Securities as today’s oldsters, welcome legal and illegal immigrants from South of the border! They are customers for the goods and services that they will help to provide. They have lots of kids. (At least until the next generation.) And that generation of young Hispanics will fill the Social Security coffers so that your retirement will be secured.
Is the Watchdog suggesting we tear down the fences on the southern border? …. Not altogether. But the population trend is significant, needs to be understood by the public , and should be factored into national policy.
