The Growing Population In The US

Demography is the science of human populations and their change over time, and the United States Census reveals important demographic changes decade-by-decade that affect politics, government and public policy. One of the most important demographic trends is that the U.S. has become a far more multicultural and multilingual society than it was in 1960, due in part from changes in the immigration laws in 1965 that abolished the quota system of the National Origins Act that favored European immigrants. As a result, Asians and Hispanics have been the majority of new immigrants over the past forty years and states like California and Texas already have majority-minority populations or soon will have. At some point in the 21st Century, the U.S. as a whole is going to become a majority-minority society for the first time in its history. Another major demographic trend is the rapid growth of the over-65 population as the Baby Boom generation begins to retire, which will mean heavier expenditures on federal entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security. Elderly voters are also the most politically active group, especially when protecting these key safety net programs, and this has become a major political and public policy issue in recent years.

The United States is the third most populated country in the world. This country holds about 4.5% of the world’s population. The U.S. population is currently estimated to have 308.7 million persons. This number is more than double of the population from 1950. Besides the fact of the population has doubled its size, the population has also become qualitatively different from the one from 1950. As noted by the Population Reference Bureau, “The U.S. is getting bigger, older, and more diverse.” The growth of the population is the result of the trends over time in the relationship of increased births, decreased deaths, and increased net immigration.

The baby-boomer generation is aging and adding more beneficiaries’ at an increasing rate than ever before and is estimated to impact the federal deficit by over 17% by 2020. Many other countries have National Healthcare that provides better care at a much lower cost. Medicare was the motivation for a universal healthcare plan and a program for the U.S. could have a positive impact. (Starr, 2011).

Jacobsen, Kent, Lee, & Mather (2011) stated, “Since women live longer than men in the United States, women will continue to make up a majority of the older population in the foreseeable future” (pg. 3). Whereas, this age distribution among men and women are expected to remain approximately the same between 2009 and 2030, there will be notable changes in the age and gender gap by 2050 as the gap grows smaller (Jacobsen, Kent, Lee, & Mather, 2011). Furthermore, according to Vincent & Velkoff (2010), by the year 2042 the United States will become more racially and ethnically diverse with the combined minority population expected to become the majority. Thus, as people in the United States age over the next several decades, the older population will also become a more racially and ethnically diverse group. In addition, the overall age structure of the population is expected to change a great deal over the next four decades (Vincent & Velkoff, 2010). This will pose even more challenges to policy makers and programs designed to help the elderly like Medicare and Social Security. Therefore, being able to project the size and structure of the older population, in regards to age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin is not only important to public interest, but also private both socially and economically (Vincent & Velkoff, 2010).

The age of population is one of the challenges the United States faces. The shift of demographics may have an effect on the needs and services of this particular population. In this paper it will be discussed how the demographics may have an impact on the health care market, how changes will affect health care such as increase in health care cost and increase in prescription drug cost.

The indefinite growth of the human population, has monumental impacts on the natural environment, not only in the UK, but around the globe. Architecturally, the entire process of designing and constructing a building, both domestic and not, can lead to the rapid exhaustion of natural resources across the planet. Building with environmental design strategies in mind not only combats the impact we as humans have on the natural environment, but also has considerable economic benefits, due to lower running costs of buildings and advanced occupant productivity. There are also many social benefits, such as improved air quality which resultantly leads too enhanced health of a buildings occupants.

For years, Social Security has provided retired, disabled, as well many other Americans with financial security when they lacked or had little income later in their lives. Now, Social Security is being overwhelmed as the American population continues to grow. The Baby Boomers, or the demographic group born in the post- World War II era, from 1946-1964, have been the main reason for the prevalence of this issue. Millions were born during this era and by 2012 they were eligible for the full benefits of Social Security. Two years after that and for the first time ever, Social Security had to draw from its fund and since then they have not collected a surplus of taxes. Recent predictions show that by “2035, the number of Americans over age 65 will jump from today's 48 million to 79 million,” showing that this is just the start of Social Security’s problems to come. By 2035, I will hopefully be in my mid-30’s, wondering if one I would be able to afford retirement and without this system, I’m a bit unsure.

During 1680 to 1750 there was a tremendous population boom in North America. The factors that lead to an increase in population included; higher birthrates, healthier environment, and a reliance on free labor.

America has to divert money to a number of crucially important issues such s Education and Defense. Given the difficult economic times and its cumulative debt as well as given rising cost of health insurance and rising amount of people who need it, the US government may well decide to make its conditions for receiving health insurance even more rigid. Consequently, less people will be qualified to receive health insurance less people will receive the benefits and fewer benefits will be included in the package deal.

Human population growth is becoming a huge issue in our world today. The population is increasing rapidly. The reason that it is becoming a concern is because it has affected the economic, environmental, and social aspects of our world. In the film Frontline: Heat, we can see how there might not be a future for our planet unless we are able to reduce the emissions and make our world a safe place. Not only for the present but also for future generations so that they are able to live long and healthy lives.

When America started, the first settlers weren’t required to have documentation. So when did the fascination for documentation start? As people started seeing the new world as a place for a better life, more immigrants came to America. However to prevent overpopulation, the American government decided to stop and slow down immigration. On September 1727, America started to construct inspections on immigrants arriving to ensure that diseases weren’t going to be spread here. Though it wasn’t until the Plantation Act of 1740 where residents started getting naturalized. Nevertheless the first illegal aliens to appear here was in 1808, after foreign slave trade became illegal. Since then, the United States has naturalized many of their residents throughout the centuries after issues have been solved. With illegal immigration becoming a popular issue it is important to know the cause for its developing popularity, such as affecting the citizens, government’s obligation to satisfy its citizens, and government’s need for control.

The informative synopsis of how the demographic changes are taking place in states with the regard to the workforce, states and regions are benefiting from these changes, areas which are declining and why, as well as, the projections of the birth rates and aging in the states over the next twenty-five years. The economic implications of these changes have on our states. Then finally how this all is related to Federalism.

One of the most impactful demographic trends is geographical location in the United States. More people are now attracted to living on the east and west coast than ever before. These include Hawaii, California, New York, Florida etc. The population is overwhelmingly concentrated in the coastal states whereas the inner states have a far lower population density. Some reasons as to why people chose to live in the coastal areas are infrastructure, common occurrence and cooler summers. Having said that, the demands of mass tourism and its accompanying enormous leisure-complexes have given rise to a frenetic growth in construction and apparel stores.

Over the years, there have been major shifts within the United States in regards to its population. Statisticians have estimated that 20% of the population will be 65 years of age and older. There is an even

A drop in net immigration to the United States is a key factor that has contributed to the aging of the US population. According to the U.S. census Bureau, “there have been a drop in immigration levels in the United States”, which, mean that a smaller share of U.S. population growth can directly attribute to immigration similar to natural increase these can also be related to jobs losses that are normally filled by immigrants such as construction jobs, and manufacturing jobs. Declining fertility rates are also a key factor in the United States. “In the past the 18 and under have exceeded the 65 and older, but now have declined by 190,000 per the Census Bureau in 2010 and 2011 while the elderly have increased by 917,000. Working-age adults, and those in childbearing ages, is also down”. There is also a decline in fertility rates as well, they estimated 4 billion birth between 2010 and 2011 which is down from the 4.2 that was between 2005 and 2006.