It's big issues week on my blog apparently. So here, have another.
There is a certain problem that we, citizens of the world, face. There's too many damn people. There's only so much farm-able land, and thus only so many people can be supported by the world's ecosystem. If we reach that tipping point, where there is literally not enough usable land to feed the population, things will be disastrous. I feel like massive uprisings and revolts would result, with the poor and hungry rising up against the wealthy and fed. This will compound on the fact that as the population gets larger, disease spreads more easily.
So how do we combat population growth? Let's start with the United States first. Maybe we can set an example and be progressive for once (that's right, I went there).
- Remove the child tax credit. Simple enough. Why reward procreation? That will only encourage it. This would also help that whole deficit problem. Granted, you couldn't just remove it wholesale, that's ruin people. Gradually step it down over the course of 18 years.
- Take some of that new money from removing the child tax credit and fund conception preventing. Fund Planned Parenthood, fund non-abstinence only education, give away condoms, add birth control as a government subsidized pharmaceutical.
- Fund education in general. I'd be willing to bet that there are studies that show that more highly educated people have fewer children, and they have them at an older age. Both of these things will decrease the population growth rate.
- Address the issue of gender equality. Women need to feel more confident to refuse men. They need to be able to say 'no' to sex, say 'you have to' to him wearing protection, and say 'no' to having children.
- Work to reduce the rigidity of gender roles. Women should be allowed to work if they want to, no questions asked. Encourage them to. Let them say 'no' to men who wouldn't let them.
- Stop funding abstinence-only education. It doesn't work.
- Make/Keep abortion legal. (I have very mixed feelings about abortion in general, but in the end I support its existence)
- This last one is probably very minimal in effect but it's there. Support homosexuals and homosexual rights. We don't need closeted/shamed homosexuals entering into heterosexual relationships and having children. Quite frankly, having more homosexuals would do wonders for the population growth issue.
This list attacks the population growth issue from multiple angles. Because of it, not only should people be having fewer children, but they should be having them later in life. Both of these factors will slow population growth. Maybe for once we could address something before it becomes a really big problem.
