We’ve warned on these pages that young people aren’t being fruitful, and now the government demographers at CBO predict that starting in 2030, deaths will exceed births in the United States. This would mean immigration would be the only source of population growth. And even that won’t be enough to prevent negative population growth by 2056:

The total population is projected to stop growing in 2056 and remain roughly the same size as in the previous year. Thereafter, the population is projected to shrink. Net immigration (the number of people who migrate to the United States minus the number who leave) is projected to become an increasingly important source of population growth in the coming years, as declining fertility rates cause the annual number of deaths to exceed the annual number of births starting in 2030. Without immigration, the population would begin to shrink in 2030.

There are only three ways to avoid this crisis: have more children, live and work longer, or increase the number of (legal, please!) immigrants and guest workers.

We favor all three.