Population control is a huge issue, but no politicians in the United States have the guts to tackle it. Every year, new roads, homes, and general infrastructures need to be built to accommodate the growing population. This eats our resources while giving us nothing back. We (the United States) does not need to keep growing, we are big enough, it is time to start slowing down. Reproducing does not help us, in fact, every American human, even those near the poverty level, leave an ecological footprint several times bigger than people on any other country. Simply, if you reproduce, you are contributing to the demise of our planet.
The benefits of instituting population control laws are numerous. For one, we will have more resources of all sorts, including oil. If the American population was significantly reduced, gas prices would go down as well, as well as meat. The general philosophy, basically, is more for the rest of us. Overcrowding of prisons and schools will also go down. Also important, competition within schools and the job market will decrease. Many people go unemployed or cannot get into the school of their choice because there is so much competition, but with less people, life would be easier. If the population is not stabilized now, everything else we work for will be completely futile. Any chances of reduced crime, reforestation, energy efficiency, wildlife conservation, pollution control, and economic development will all be impossible with a growing population. In regard to the environment, if there are more people, more food needs to be produced, and more goods manufactured. While this may sound good economically, it is not if there are no resources, which there will not be if we keep going at this rate.
The problem with unregulated population control, is that people will not do it. Some people want large families, because they feel that producing children is the greatest gift they can give the world, which is 100% NOT true. Also, some people are insecure with themselves and feel that the only way they can be successful is if they reproduce (because having a child supposedly automatically makes you a success, which it does not). However, to have regulated population control, you need laws, and politicians are not even discussing the subject of population control because they think we do not need it, but we do.
For people who want to have children, there are several alternatives. First, consider adoption. Adoption is saving a child from a bad life, instead of creating a life from nothing. It’s like adopting a kitten; why would you want to breed two animals to have a litter when you could save an animal? Speaking of animals, you could get a pet. Pets have everything children do except speech and the horrible, horrible awkwardness. Then there is not having children at all, which is great! You have more money to spend on yourself and on charities; think about it, which is more worthwhile to spend money on? A consuming, ecologically-damaging human, or a charity which plants trees in impoverished regions? I think the answer is clear.
