NPG Republishes Cornerstone U.S. Population Policy Document

• NPG
• April 8, 2015
• Press Releases
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NPG Republishes Cornerstone U.S. Population Policy Document

NPG’s outline for a national population policy for U.S. to avert projected 416 million people by 2060.

This press release was picked up by 167 news outlets across the country, including all major television networks.  Together, NPG’s message was distributed to a prospective audience of nearly 144 million Americans.

Click here for a downloadable, printable PDF version

Alexandria, VA (April 8, 2015) – After recent projections from the U.S. Census Bureau indicated that America will reach over 416 million people by 2060, on April 27^th Negative Population Growth (NPG) is republishing its 1992 position paper: Why We Need a Smaller U.S. Population and How We Can Achieve It. NPG President Don Mann, author of the paper, noted: “U.S. population currently stands at over 320 million people – and we are on track to add another 96 million in just 45 years. America is already overpopulated. The evidence is all around us.”

Mann explained: “Our infrastructure is crumbling. Millions of Americans are unemployed or underemployed. Our schools and hospitals are overcrowded. Medicare and Social Security are already strained under their current burden. Pollution is rising, animal species and habitats are disappearing, fresh water is becoming scarce, and other natural resources are dwindling. All of these problems are either caused or aggravated by U.S. population growth. It is absolutely critical that we get more Americans involved in this fight, for it is our nation’s future at stake.”

In the paper, Mann notes: “All efforts to save our environment will ultimately prove futile unless we not only halt, but eventually reverse, our population growth… Sheer numbers of people can prevent the achievement of such vital national goals as a healthy environment and a sustainable economy… Regardless of new technologies and heroic conservation efforts, we must recognize that population size is the central, core issue and address it as such.” He adds: “Asking ourselves the right questions is supremely important, because failure to do so can prove fatal.”  

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, our nation is currently growing at the average rate of one person every 15 seconds. Mann notes: “When this paper was originally published in July 1992, some 22 years ago, our population was 256 million – already exceeding our long-term carrying capacity. In the short time since then, our population has increased by another 64 million – an astonishing 25% growth in a little over 2 decades, or roughly 30 million per decade.” To achieve a smaller population and preserve our nation’s environment, economy, and a satisfactory quality of life, Mann explains we must determine an “optimum U.S. population size” and begin working toward it. The NPG position paper outlines the specific steps necessary to slow, halt, and eventually reverse population growth until we reach that optimum size.

The paper notes: “Various experts are forever trying to estimate how many people our nation, and the world, could possibly be made to support. Their focus, for some odd reason, seems to be on the possible rather than the desirable… Could anyone possibly believe that a U.S. population of 400 or 500 million – numbers we seem determined to reach – would be optimal?” Mann also explains that this process is subject to the inevitable changes in demographic trends: “Any goal set for a smaller U.S. population should, of course, allow for mid-course corrections based on increased knowledge with the passage of time… The goal eventually decided upon will be a ‘best estimate’ based on our present knowledge.”

Mann also points out the direct link between current mass immigration programs and resulting population growth. “To progress toward a smaller population we would need to lower substantially our present rates of immigration… Our immigration policy should be an integral part of a national population policy aimed at reducing our numbers. If immigration remains at or near current levels, it will be virtually impossible to… achieve a negative rate of population growth.”

The paper concludes: “The hallmark of our recommended program is moderation. The rates of immigration and fertility we advocate are not far from those that actually existed in the fairly recent past… Small differences in immigration and fertility rates can, if maintained over a considerable length of time, mean the difference of hundreds of millions in the size at which U.S. population is eventually stabilized… Without such a program, we are almost certain to continue… down our current path. That path is leading us straight toward catastrophic population levels that can only devastate our environment… Can there be any doubt which of the two directions would best serve the broad public interest, and the welfare of present and future generations of Americans?”