Mr. Wattenberg is not a professional demographer. But he has a great
interest in the subject. Contrary to the "population explosion"
advocates, Mr. Wattenberg states that the world is facing a population
IMPLOSION. Even in poorer developing countries, the birth rate is
declining and may drop below replacement rate.
Anyone following the news in Japan will see that a big concern is the
declining birth rate, which means less consumers and less of tax
base. The aging population in Japan combined with fewer young people
to pay into the tax system, means a strain on the economy.
>From what I can tell, the author appears to be a secular Jew, with no
religious axe to grind. But he does show point out that certain moral
(or immoral) practices such as abortion do have an effect on the birth
rate. But though he acknowledges the effect, he does not take a stand
against issues such as abortion.
I think like Julian Simon, he shows the benefits of population
growth. For example with population growth, the defense budget per
person goes down. For example if the Defense budget is 800 million
and the population is 200 million, then the cost per person is 4
dollars a person, but if the population is 400 million, then the cost
is 2 dollars per person.
He also addresses the issues such as "global warming." He blasts
away at the hype pointing out that the United States has actually come
closer to meeting the Kyoto Protocols than the nations which allegedly
pledged to follow those guidelines. To me the Kyoto Protocols make no
sense. If the world is facing catastrophic "global warming" and Carbon
Dioxide is the cause, why not target the biggest culprits; China and
India? Why only target the United States? If the United States were
to follow the Kyoto Protocols, wouldn't that encourage companies in
the United States to move to China and India, thus making the problem
worse? I wonder if Al Gore's movie was funded by China and India?
While I may not agree with everything in Ben Wattenberg's book, I
think he does provide much useful information and ample food for
thought.
Guy
# posted by GuyTak @ 5:02 PM
