Rasmussen Poll: Nearly Half Think Too Fast Growth Is Worse Than Too Slow
02/17/2013
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Among elites in Washington, population growth of any kind, even of stubbornly retro third-worlders, is preferable to a sustainable society. The reason is simple: expanding population causes GNP to rise, which looks good, even as per capita income of the citizens decreases. The idea of the country being full never occurs.

Yet even without a strong environmentalist voice reminding people of the limits of the planet to replenish natural resources, nearly half of poll respondents said too rapid population growth is worse than too slow. (Environmentalists are uncomfortable with population topics generally, and even more so when excessive immigration is connected with environmental harm.)

On U.S. Population Growth, 47% Think Too Fast Is Worse Than Too Slow Rasmussen Reports, February 15, 2013

While demographers ponder the impact of the nation’s declining birth rate, Americans worry more about a population that grows too fast rather than one that grows too slow. Only 25% of American Adults believe a population that is growing too slowly is a bigger problem for the United States than one that is growing too fast. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that nearly twice as many (47%) disagree and think a population that is growing too fast is a bigger problem for the country. Twenty-eight percent (28%) are undecided.

Here in California, fingers are crossed that the seasonal rains will start up again to replenish the snowpack and reservoirs. After a gangbusters fall season of rainfall, the faucet turned off in January. It doesn’t help that the state’s population has skyrocketed in recent decades, caused mostly by immigrants and their offspring. Water restrictions now come more frequently, as authorities try to temper the demand part of the equation, since little can be done about supply.

There are many reasons to object to excessive population growth, like not having enough jobs for the current residents. Since much of the growth is propelled by immigration, legal and illegal, citizens are rightly concerned about the cultural change in their communities and that the engine of assimilation is overwhelmed. Plus, while business loves the increased economic activity connected with millions more shoppers, the taxpayers must pay the billions of dollars in cost for new infrastructure and social services.

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