4 ms·

You are delusional. Two separate congressional commissions in the 70s and the 90s concluded the long term sustainable population of the USA is under 200 million

You are delusional. Two separate congressional commissions in the 70s and the 90s concluded the long term sustainable population of the USA is under 200 million. Moving people from poor places to rich places increases the environmental impacts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW-NtQr89u4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW-NtQr89u4 Anyway, "moving people around" is not a useful way to look at American immigration. The numbers of people overseas who would move here are effectively infinite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjzfGChGlE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjzfGChGlE

seanmcdirmid 12y ago
200 million is ridiculous and obviously not true as we've already broken 300 million without any problems. Japan supports around 130 million people with an American-level lifestyle..it is much smaller with ALOT less arable land (the interior are all mountains!). A billion is really not a problem for a country as resource rich as the USA. We already produce much of the world's food, and our biggest problems usually amount to not being able to water our Kentucky bluegrass lawns whenever we want to. Even if we forget about much of the dry west, we still have lots of space (and the west actually isn't that dry...). Immigration is a great way of allowing for global social mobility. I hate the mentality of the "we got ours, screw the rest of you" mindset of the anti-immigration types. It is not only selfish, but morally wrong.
- a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
  Japan is a global shipping or energy crisis away from utter catastrophe. You really think that's a situation we should shoot for? Japan is wisely choosing to lower its population. And major lol at the idea that Japanese have a quality of life comparable to Americans. They commute over an hour one way to tiny apartments and enjoy spacious neighborhood outdoor recreation facilities such as this: http://treasureheart.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/3/3/1833287/3026975.jpg http://treasureheart.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/3/3/1833287/3026... Clearly we haven't broken 300 million without problems. Quite obviously we've had an explosion of sprawl and loss of open space. We've had massive growth in infrastructure demands. It's very easy to argue that most major urban areas have seen a major decline in quality of life for the middle class.
  - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
    Japan is anti-immigration (many are xenophobic) but they are not trying to lower their population. The government is trying to encourage more babies if anything. I've been to Japan a few times and found my friends there had quite good lives. Ya, they don't get to waste as much as we do, but their apartments are cozy, they prefer higher quality things, the trains ARE VERY efficient, the commutes are not that bad for most people. Also, not everyone lives in Tokyo. We haven't lost that much open space, and the American I knew 20 years ago is still pretty much intact today. I just got back from a two week trip to Seattle and not much had changed, the traffic was a bit worse, but nothing like Beijing.

seanmcdirmid 12y ago

200 million is ridiculous and obviously not true as we've already broken 300 million without any problems. Japan supports around 130 million people with an American-level lifestyle..it is much smaller with ALOT less arable land (the interior are all mountains!). A billion is really not a problem for a country as resource rich as the USA. We already produce much of the world's food, and our biggest problems usually amount to not being able to water our Kentucky bluegrass lawns whenever we want to. Even if we forget about much of the dry west, we still have lots of space (and the west actually isn't that dry...). Immigration is a great way of allowing for global social mobility. I hate the mentality of the "we got ours, screw the rest of you" mindset of the anti-immigration types. It is not only selfish, but morally wrong.

a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
Japan is a global shipping or energy crisis away from utter catastrophe. You really think that's a situation we should shoot for? Japan is wisely choosing to lower its population. And major lol at the idea that Japanese have a quality of life comparable to Americans. They commute over an hour one way to tiny apartments and enjoy spacious neighborhood outdoor recreation facilities such as this: http://treasureheart.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/3/3/1833287/3026975.jpg http://treasureheart.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/3/3/1833287/3026... Clearly we haven't broken 300 million without problems. Quite obviously we've had an explosion of sprawl and loss of open space. We've had massive growth in infrastructure demands. It's very easy to argue that most major urban areas have seen a major decline in quality of life for the middle class.
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  Japan is anti-immigration (many are xenophobic) but they are not trying to lower their population. The government is trying to encourage more babies if anything. I've been to Japan a few times and found my friends there had quite good lives. Ya, they don't get to waste as much as we do, but their apartments are cozy, they prefer higher quality things, the trains ARE VERY efficient, the commutes are not that bad for most people. Also, not everyone lives in Tokyo. We haven't lost that much open space, and the American I knew 20 years ago is still pretty much intact today. I just got back from a two week trip to Seattle and not much had changed, the traffic was a bit worse, but nothing like Beijing.