The NPG Journal: Vol. 8, No. 3

NPG ISSUES NEW PRESIDENT’S COLUMN & NATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

In response to the latest population projections by the U.S. Census Bureau, NPG has released a new President’s Column which reviews the data. The projections show more bad news for Americans concerned with population growth: according to Census, America will grow to over 416 million people by 2060 – an increase of more than 30% in just 46 years. The new NPG Press Release highlighting the column was picked up by hundreds of national media outlets all across the nation, broadcasting to an audience of hundreds of millions of concerned Americans.

The online President’s Column explains: “With the aging-out of the Baby Boomer population, death rates are projected to increase by over 20% by 2045 – significantly cutting overall growth from natural increase. This natural phenomenon is already stirring alarm bells among pro-growth activists, who use it to justify increasingly generous immigration policies – just as President Obama did in defending his recent executive mandate amnestying millions of illegal aliens.”

The Column concludes: “The data is clear: regardless of shifting demographics, the aging of the Baby Boomers, or the philosophical implications of our widening immigration policies, America’s population is growing – and it will continue to do so at an alarming rate in the decades ahead. We must act now and embrace national policies which work to slow, halt, and eventually reverse U.S. population growth – before it is too late. We must take actions today to preserve a livable America for future generations.”

END OF YEAR STATUS: AMNESTY, CONGRESS, AND IMMIGRATION REFORM

Without question, these past few weeks have been filled with fierce debate on how Congress should respond to President Obama’s recent executive action on immigration – which would legalize the status of another 5 million illegal aliens presently in our country.

National polls show that the president is acting against the will of the majority of Americans, and Capitol Hill has been deluged with demands that Congress take whatever action it can to “de-fund” this program.

We are pleased that NPG members – and millions of other concerned Americans – have made clear to their U.S. Senators and Congressmen that the president’s unilateral actions on immigration are putting America on a very wrong course. This highly-charged political decision is critical for our nation’s future – concerning both population growth and immigration.

Recent weeks have been filled with media attention from all sides of the immigration argument – and much political maneuvering by elected officials. Many Americans are anxiously awaiting the outcome of this critical issue, now that Congress has passed and sent to the president’s desk the omnibus $1.1 trillion budget bill.

Prior to Senate passage of this legislation, Senator Jeff Sessions – a tireless advocate of common-sense immigration reform – summed up where we are now, and what we need to do in the critical months ahead. As reported in Townhall.com, Senator Sessions noted:

“For the sake of the Constitution and our constituents, Congress should fund the government but not fund the President’s unlawful amnesty. In plain violation of law, the President’s order gives amnesty and work permits to 5 million illegal immigrants – allowing them to take jobs directly from struggling Americans. Unfortunately, not only has Congress so far not attempted any effective action to block the President’s amnesty, but the legislation that passed tonight funds through September of next year many policies that the House itself rejected only a few months ago. In effect, the omnibus provides the Administration with billions of dollars to carry out President Obama’s resettlement plan for illegal immigrants in U.S. communities. The legislation also continues to allow the recipients of the President’s amnesty to receive billions of dollars in government checks in the form of tax credits and to participate in programs through myriad government agencies such as Social Security and Medicare.

“The American people are justly worried about their jobs, their schools, and their communities. They have rightly demanded a lawful system of immigration that serves their interests – not the special interests. They have correctly pleaded with their lawmakers to finally adopt immigration policies that put their needs – the needs of American citizens – first. So, to them I say: we are only just beginning. We are going to fight harder than we ever have before.”

NPG is very much ready to stand with Senator Sessions in fighting that battle!

Note: The good news is that while the 1,063-page spending agreement will fund most of the government until September 30, 2015, it funds the Department of Homeland Security (which has jurisdiction over immigration) only until the end of February. Thus, the immigration debate on Capitol Hill will begin again only a few weeks into the new year.

OBAMACARE AND THE DOCTOR SHORTAGE

Why would you add millions of people to America’s health insurance programs, but then not balance that action with a major increase in the number of doctors available? As millions of Americans sign up for Obamacare and act to avail themselves of its programs, finding a doctor to provide treatment is becoming quite a challenge.

Writing for the Associated Press, reporter Kelli Kennedy focused on a recent survey by The Physicians Foundation that “found that 81 percent of doctors describe themselves as either over-extended or at full capacity, and 44 percent said they planned to cut back on the number of patients they see, retire, work part-time or close their practice to new patients.”

The study noted: “nearly 1 in 5 Americans lives in a region designated as having a shortage of primary care physicians, and the number of doctors entering the field isn’t expected to keep pace with demand. The Association of Medical College projects the shortage will grow to about 66,000 in little more than a decade as fewer residency slots are available and as more medical students choose higher paying specialty areas.”

One of the problems clogging the system is that, with the surge of new patients who have had no medical care for years, doctors must spend a much greater amount of time with new patients. Kelly quotes Dr. Wanda Filer, president of the Academy of Family Physicians, who stated: “In response, the academy of more than 115,000 doctors say they’re adding new physicians to their practices, relying more on nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants, adding evening and weekend appointments.”

Increasing doctor shortages are set to be a major consequence of population growth. The advent of mandated healthcare, which requires America’s current medical infrastructure to accept tens of millions of additional patients, is only a foreshadowing of what’s to come. Additionally, a huge portion of America’s doctors now come from abroad. This kind of brain-draining immigration is not only bad for the sending nations, it also increases our population.

When population growth increases the demand for doctors – and many of those doctors arrive in the U.S. from overseas – the cycle perpetuates. Immigration-driven population growth begets more immigration. Until we act to slow, halt, and eventually reverse U.S. population growth, the healthcare crisis will only worsen.

quotable

“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.”

– Theodore Roosevelt