Overpopulation Could Eat Up US Resources
22/05/2008 by Tamar Blieden
As the US population grows by the day due to growing birth rates and immigration, the fear that soon society will not be able to manage the numbers has become a hot debate. The question is, with an estimated growth of 3.1 million on a yearly basis, how will basic resources cope?
Each year millions of skilled and unskilled immigrants enter the United States, either through legal routes or illegally. The opportunities that America represents and people's desire to live 'the American Dream' sparks this influx of foreigners. Almost 200 000 people come to America seeking a new life each month.
These people use water, utilise energy, eat produce and fill the neighbourhoods and roads. And as these numbers increase, so the US government find it almost impossible to prevent shortages, pollution, overcrowding and maintain a quality of life.
"It is essentially a vicious cycle," says Christian Clarke of immigration specialists, Global Visas (www.globalvisas.com). "America needs skills but is worried what massive population increases could cause, not only for society but also to the environment."
The US is in a difficult situation. On the one hand US society and business need more skilled foreigners in order to fill highly skilled labour gaps by calling for a more lenient immigration policy. While on the other hand, others feel that foreigners, mostly those with low skills, are taking away local jobs and using up essential assets.
The US has strict immigration laws, with caps on the numbers of foreigners coming in as temporary workers on H-1B or H-2B visas and difficulties in attaining US citizenship. However they continue to battle to stop illegal immigration.
It seems as though the US government are able to control the amount of much needed skilled workers, but cannot stop low skilled immigrants gaining access through loop holes like family sponsorship or illegal immigration.
In 2007 over a million people became legal permanent residents (LPR) in the US. These people mostly came from Mexico and China. These countries are also key destinations were illegal immigration is rife.
Not only are resources at breaking point but unemployment figures have risen, especially as lower skilled workers who are unable or unwilling to seek employment enter the country. Illegals also make up the millions of Americans who are not in the labour force.
Advocates for legalising illegal immigrants and allowing more immigrants in the hope of solving labour shortages, believe that there are no Americans able to fill low wage, low skilled jobs. However the number of natives currently unemployed also remains high. Therefore this is a two way problem. As the level of immigration sky rockets so the amount of unemployed locals remains high.
Immigrants are often blamed for growing crime levels and are criticised for their often slow adjustment to American culture and society, this is predominantly language related. Crowded public schools, stagnating wages, job competition and rising costs of food are often blamed on overcrowding and especially immigration.
It is clear that a certain amount of immigration is welcomed in the United States. However as the population increases, Americans and the government itself needs to deal with overpopulation and mass resource usage and what its consequences on the future may be.
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