The Rockefeller Commission in 1972, citing considerations such as energy and mineral resources, water supply, agricultural land supply, outdoor recreation resources, and environmental pollution, concluded that "Neither the health of our economy nor the welfare of individual businesses depends on continued population growth. In fact, the average person will be markedly better off in terms of traditional economic values if population growth slows down than if it resumes the pace of growth experienced in the recent past." The Commission closed with the recommendation "that the nation welcome and plan for a stabilized population."
Our standard of living has barely risen. In many households, two earners are needed where one formerly sufficed. Home ownership and a college education are unaffordable for many Americans. Public parks and recreational areas are deteriorating from overuse. The very poor are often "discouraged" workers, uncounted in unemployment statistics. Education, health-care, garbage-disposal, correctional, water, and highway costs have become more burdensome, while education, housing, social-service, and welfare monies are spread mere thinly. The number of poor grows constantly. More children (and a larger proportion) than before live in poverty. Homelessness appears chronic.
The costs of accommodating more people in the same amount of space and with the same amount of natural resources are escalating in our free market economy. Given limited resources, we have a fixed supply of many commodities, such as land for dumping and clean water. Costs must go up if we add more people and this will also add to the burdens of the poor. Poverty has also risen significantly in the United States in the past 20 years. Over 35 million Americans now live in poverty, including over one fifth of all US children. According to the Population Reference Bureau, there is still as strong correlation between family size and poverty. While barely five percent of families with no children live in poverty, over 25 percent of families with three children live in poverty. Over 35 percent of all US families with four children live in poverty, while well over half of all families with five or more children live in poverty.
Not only do increased human numbers contribute to poverty because of the H = R/P, but is also affects jobs and income. The latter half of this century has seen tremendous increases in productivity and economic growth, due largely to increased mechanization and improved technology. The result of this development, however, has been a decrease in agriculture and manufacturing jobs, even as more and more workers enter the job market due to population growth. Furthermore, with the globalization of information technology, more U.S. jobs are going overseas to depressed labor markets. Jobs (R) will continue to be lost to overseas markets if our standard of living keeps wages high. Some of these job losses have been offset by increased service jobs, but often at lower wages. (R) have not increased in ratio to population (P). The result is lower wages and greater unemployment, or declining economic security (H).
Our income is dropping because of intense competition fostered by population growth. On the flip side of the economic coin, costs are escalating as well because of enhanced demand on the environment. Open land and clean water (R) are becoming scarce, again deteriorating the human condition. Garbage disposal is a hot topic. Many of us realize the supply of dumping locations is severely limited when we have to dispose of the remains of some household project or make an attempt to clean and dispose of basement "collections". In just a few years, dumping fees in U.S. cities have skyrocketed, from $5 or $10 a ton to an average of over $150. Attorney General Bleumenthal, of the state of Connecticut, is pursuing a law suit against New York because of excessive Long Island Garbage polluting Connecticut's shores.
The rising cost of water in areas that are not naturally arid makes the same point. Even if the quantity of water is sufficient, purity tends to suffer when population density grows. It costs money to keep clean or clean up. A 1992 Wall Street Journal account (Poor Pay, 1992) states that "Boston water and sewer bills have risen 39% in the past two years as the costs of cleaning up Boston Harbor have been phased into rates." In 1991, the average household paid $500 a year in water and sewer bills, and "water shutoffs as a result of nonpayment of water bills...tripled."
Activities
A. Job Search
Objective: Students compete for jobs and observe the best, most well paying jobs are the hardest to get--competition is fierce. Upon completion, students are assigned "careers" with established salaries, which will be used for the final project.
Materials:
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Index cards (2 per student)
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Bowls/containers to hold index cards
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Newspaper job listings (New York Times is ideal)
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Career brochures
Procedure: Set up a mock job fair in the classroom.
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1. List jobs from local newspapers or career brochures, with description, requirements and salary on the board or on a handout. Make sure jobs vary in salary, requirements and education.
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2. Divide the jobs into three categories by salary or educational requirements. For example, category 1 may include: Vice President (of a Corporate Division) Lawyer, Administrator; category 2 might include: Sales Professional, Software Engineer, Accountant or Teacher; category 3 might include Maintenance Worker, Customer Service Worker, Bus Driver or Clerk.
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3. Create job qualification cards: copy each job listing from category 1 on an index card; copy each job listing from category 2 on two index cards; copy each job listing from category 3 on three index cards.
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4. Have each student write the one title and description of the job they want most.
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5. You should have at least two index cards for each student. Add job titles and descriptions if necessary. Maintain only one copy of each category 1 job).
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6. Shuffle and pass out two cards to each student.
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7. In turns, have each student write their name on the back of the card and place it in the labeled bowls or containers around the room.
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8. After students have placed their qualifications card, assign one "personnel manager" who will retrieve one card from each job bowl/listing.
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9. This is a permanent job listing for each student for the remainder of the unit. If a student is selected for two jobs, they get to select the one they wish to keep. If a student is not selected for any of the jobs, that student will be unemployed.
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10. Students can research their job description and other requirements in The Young Person's Occupational Handbook (JIST Works, Indianapolis, IN, 1996)
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11. Lead a discussion: How happy are the students with their selections? Which jobs were the hardest to get? Why?
B. Debate
Divide the class into two. From Taking Sides, Issue 19, assign each group to either argument, "yes' or "no", in "Should Pollution Be Put to the Market Test?" Have students prepare arguments for court, in which an administrator or parent is judge.
C. Budgets (home project)
At home with parents, have students develop a listing of household expenses. Refer to the assigned "occupations" to see if they could afford their present lifestyle on the assigned occupation. Propose that their electric, water, sewer and their other utility bills increase 25% because of increased demands due to an increase in the town or city's population. How would that affect their budget? Have students write a narrative how their budget would be affected and explain how they would pay for these increases.
