"The Problem Is Not Too Many, but Too Few"

In the influential publication Foreign Affairs, author Charles Kenny considers a question we have discussed in class. What happens if a country does halt or seriously slow immigration? While Politicians around the world rant about their countries being "full," Kenny cites statistics that show the danger in not having enough immigrants. Currently in North America and Europe, women are having children at a rate that does not support population growth through natural increase. Thus, these countries will have to bring in immigrants in order to stabilize the economy, and fill much needed vacancies in the job market. "Ten European countries, along with Japan, are forecast to see their populations fall by 15 percent or more by 2050. Over the next 65 years, the working-age population of the European Union as a whole is expected to fall by 44.5 million people." Highlighting the need to bring in young immigrant families now, as well as in the future because by the next generation of retirees, a jobs crisis could take hold. Further,  Kenny also laments that "Robots and artificial intelligence will not save rich countries from the economic consequences of a shrinking population." Which combats the idea, that the future economy will be able to run without actual workers. An idea that many Silicon Valley Start ups would take issue with. However, the real impact of this article is showing that many International Relations, economic, and sociological experts are expressing worry of the current world wide anti immigrant trend.

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