Note:
This post was initially entitled, Birth Dearth. However, my previous practice has been to name posts after the Solution without a Problem rather than the presumed problem. Hence the name change.
Presumed Problem
The reduced fertility rate in the USA will cause economic and other problems.
Solution
Encourage Americans to have more babies.
Narrative
In 1968, Paul Ehrlich and David Brower published The Population Bomb, which was the first serious warning about overpopulation since Thomas Malthus published several editions of An Essay on the Principle of Population between 1798 and 1826. The Population Bomb led to the formation of Zero Population Growth (now Population Connection) and other research and activist organizations. Overpopulation became a hot button issue. It was seen as the chief cause of world hunger, resource depletion, and pollution, as well as aggravating international conflict, public health problems, species extinctions, and a host of other problems.
Despite the widespread concern and activity since 1968, the world’s 
population has more than doubled from 3.5 billion to 7.4 billion. The UN now predicts world population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050. The population of the USA has increased by more than half since 1968 from 207 million to 32o million).
Though world and American population has continued growing at what many consider an alarming rate there have been some signs of progress. In fact, some developed nations have reduced their fertility rates to below replacement (2.1 births per woman). Currently, the average American woman bears 1.87 children; German women 1.44; British women 1.89; Japanese women 1.4; Taiwanese women 1.12; Russian women 1.61; Canadian women 1.59 to name just a few.
The decline in fertility rates in the USA and elsewhere has 
generated the term, “birth dearth,” suggesting there are too few babies being born, with the fear there will be too few young people entering the labor force to provide for the needs of growing elderly populations.
Was the Problem Real?
This is a complex matter. In the short term, some of the problems associated with the “birth dearth” are real. The American economy, and other capitalistic economies, are fundamentally dependent on population growth: ever more consumers and more workers. Perhaps no one is experiencing these problems more seriously than the Japan, who have been actually shrinking their population in recent decades.
In the long run, however, population growth is a huge problem, far overshadowing any short-term adjustment needs when populations stop growing. This is particularly obvious in the impoverished countries who cannot currently feed their populations–and their rapidly growing numbers make their problems all the more impossible. Burundi, in Central Africa, is on course to double their population in 22 years. Niger, in West Africa, with the highest fertility rate in the world (over 7 births per woman) could triple by 2050.
Population growth is also a problem in the more prosperous, developed nations. Even wealthy countries have an impoverished underclass, and population growth increases their numbers and their needs. Moreover wealthier individuals have a greater per capita impact on the natural and social environments. They eat more, drive more, and waste more. They have larger lawns to water, a problem debated during the recent California drought.
However, focussing on the “birth dearth” in the USA, we must conclude the problem is simply non-existent. Yes, fertility rates have declined, but when immigration is added to the formula, America’s population continues to grow.
2000: 282.16 million
2001: 284.97 million
2002: 287.63 million
2003: 290.11 million
2004: 292.81 million
2005: 295.52 million
2006: 298.38 million
2007: 301.23 million
2008: 304.09 million
2009: 306.77 million
2010: 308.11 million
2011: 310.50 million
2012: 312.86 million
2013: 315.18 million
2014: 317.68 million
2015: 320.22 million
2016: 322.48 million
Pretty clearly, we are not running out of Americans. Some white supremacists may worry about the composition of the American population, and we sometimes hear blatant calls for more white babies, but any increase to population is a bad idea, regardless of race.
Negative Consequences
Frantically increasing the American fertility rate, would cause many problems, as I’ve already indicated. While an increase in new babies would benefit some businesses (you know who you are, Gerbers and Huggies), it would also require the society at large to provide increased medical services, housing, schools, libraries, truant officers, juvenile detention facilities, shopping centers, highways, etc. By the way, many of those needed expansions would reduce the land available for growing food, and we would need lots more food.
And given the unusually high standard of living of Americans as a whole, increasing our numbers has a more substantial impact on the planet than similar increases in developing countries. Adding a million Ethiopians presents big problems for Ethiopia, but adding a million Americans presents big problems for the whole world.
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Wonderful, straightforward article. The source references are very helpful. I was surprised to learn that Nigeria is expected to surpass the USA in population by 2050, becoming the third most populous country in the world. It wonder how on earth Nigeria can support that kind of growth? The material also illustrates how different factors in each country are impacting the reasons for growth in those countries and why, most likely, there will not be a “one size fits all” solution to addressing population growth. All things considered, it surely seems the notion of a disadvantageous birth dearth in the USA is misguided, and any “solutions” to reverse that fortunate trend are SoluProbs without exception. Thanks, Dr. Babbie for another fine contribution to the growing collection of SoluProb articles. Terrific material.
It would be great if readers from other countries will post their observations about the population debates in their countries, especially where policies are introduced to increase population, almost certainly SoluProbs I’m guessing, that ultimately will reap more harm than good. But, maybe people in those countries see it differently?
Thanks for your kind comments and for the great suggestions. Only about half the visitors to the site are from the USA, so there is plenty of opportunity for input from elsewhere.