Pops wrote:It's all fun and games blaming everything on Mexicans until it's your job that's eliminated because of a shrinking local economy. GDP has come down off the tax giveaway, shut off immigration entirely and you're looking at even lower gdp growth. Hard to have an expanding economy with a declining population so eventually a permanent recession. Rather than being the cause of all our ills, immigration is in part keeping the economy afloat.
Our economic model is misconstructed.
More sane one present for example in feudal societies could cope well with growing, stable or moderately shrinking populations.
All what you need to do to address these problems is outlawing of fractional reserve banking practice.
But people will get poorer, you might say...
Well, they *still* will get poorer a bit later, in fact much poorer than need be, if current paradigm continue.
Natural population growth in the US is over, millennials and especially Gen Z get to choose. Living in cities, kids are a liability rather than asset so they'll choose fewer. It's a good thing, but there are pitfalls and opportunities involved.
Four kinds of people who will breed regardless are coming to mind:
1. Wealthy - out of fancy
2. Mentally retarded - unable to manage breeding.
3. Criminally minded and yet resourceful antisocials - by enslaving women and forcing childrearing upon them.
4. Deeply religious people like Amish, devoted Catholics and ultraorhodox Jews.
But don't worry. It is projected that within next 40 years Africa will be a home to 2.5-3 billions of people.
American liberals may succeed in "saving" 1 in 20 on the top of Latin American background migration.
There will be plenty of people in the US but not many WASP-s in coming decades.
Speaking of which, right now
boomers are aging in place rather than moving into "homes" like their parents did. 75% still own the old 3/2 and it's constraining supply. Eventually, (10 years?) they are going to start dying off and housing prices are going to fall, in some place a lot. Shrinking property tax rolls in those places mean fewer services. Already at least 10 states are losing population regularly as old people die and young people move to cities, partly for services. Again, smaller populations mean smaller gdp and tax base.
Baby boomers deep down in their hearts do understand that "homes" these days, particularly those subsidized, are already out of necessity becoming to be euthanasia centers, so they are avoiding them.
They don't want gypsum and rat poison added to their food and they are concerned about mismatched drug mixtures deliberately prescribed by doctors there.
But don't worry about properties being occupied for too long and out of market.
Substantial proportion of american homes are of "throw away" type, made of cardboard and wood planks. They are designed to last about 50 years, so they will fall apart together with aging occupiers.