Economist Sounds Alarm About 'Biggest Issue' in US History

An economist has sounded the alarm regarding what he called the biggest issue in U.S. history facing Americans.

On Thursday, economist Don Johnson drew attention to America's falling population when he said it was the "biggest issue" the U.S. faces.

On Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that the population is expected to begin declining in the second half of this century. The bureau announced that it will peak at nearly 370 million people in 2080 before the decline begins, bringing the expected population to 366 million by 2100.

The press release went on to say that by 2100, the U.S. population is expected to be only 9.7 percent larger over 2022's. The study also conducted high-, low- and zero-immigration scenarios, as well as its main series scenario.

"Biggest issue in American history that exactly zero of our politicians or central planners are discussing," Johnson posted on X, formerly Twitter, Thursday afternoon while sharing the announcement.

Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Census Bureau by email and to Johnson through X for comment.

Sandra Johnson, a demographer at the Census Bureau, said that notable shifts in the U.S. population have occurred since 2018, according to a press release from the bureau.

"Some of these, like the increases in mortality caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, are expected to be short-term, while others, including the declines in fertility that have persisted for decades, are likely to continue into the future," Johnson said.

"Incorporating additional years of data on births, deaths and international migration into our projections process resulted in a slower pace of population growth through 2060 than was previously projected."

Johnson recently reshared a post showing an alarming decline in U.S. fertility rates by state, and he also followed up his first post with comments about immigration's impacts on population.

"I will likely be gone to see these days, but continuing to import cheap male labor from the third world will have disastrous long-term consequences," Johnson posted. "The people making the decisions don't have to live to see them."

Immigration has long been a hot-button issue, and President Joe Biden and his administration have been under fire for their efforts to curtail illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Conservative leaders have since taken to busing immigrants crossing the border to areas such as Chicago and New York. Other Americans have voiced their concerns about incoming immigrants posing a threat to the U.S. labor market.

Johnson expressed his concern on the impacts of immigration on the U.S. population.

"Eighty to 90% of those entering today aren't/won't have children," Johnson posted on X.

The U.S. Census Bureau's findings show that for every scenario other than the zero-immigration scenario, "immigration is projected to become the largest contributor to population growth."

"Different levels of immigration between the present and 2100 could change the projection of the population in that year by as much as 209 million people, with the projected total population ranging anywhere from 226 to 435 million," the bureau said in a statement.

"Varying assumptions about immigration also impact the projected composition of the population, with higher levels of immigration resulting in a projected population that is younger and more racially and ethnically diverse."

In the middle and high immigration scenarios, "net international migration is higher than natural increase (the difference between births and deaths) in all years of the time series."

The announcement went on to add that reduced fertility and an aging population are the main drivers behind the natural decrease in population.