Policy Issue: National Population Control - Research Paper Example

National Population Control Public Administration- Policy Analysis-Analytical paper that will analyze and make a recommendation on a policyissue-NATIONAL POPULATION CONTROL Author Name Date Introduction Population and the increase in population is one of the major problems in countries like United States. The increase in the population has been drastic and the government finds it difficult to cope up with the existing situation. Countries like America go through a tough phase and most of the population control mechanisms do not work efficiently. The increase in the population in turn leads to various other health related issues. This has led to the decrease in proper medical facilities. Though the government has provided the people with world class medical facilities and state of the art equipments, the increase in the population has made them inefficient. Increase in the population generally has a very great impact on the country. It leads to various other problems in education and employment. People do not get an opportunity to select the educational institution that they prefer. This subsequently affects their employment. Employment has become a big issue since the numbers of educated people are more when compared to other countries. The U.S nationals are deprived of their chances due to the increase in the immigration. Population control is the major concern of any country. The governments of almost all the countries around the world try their best to control the population though there are various population control techniques; the lack of co-operation leaves the policies ineffective. Population control cannot be achieved overnight and the government and other public service organizations must implement unique population control mechanism. (Mosher, 2008).The importance of population control has been realized over the past few years and almost all the countries struggle hard to control the population. United States is one among the countries which has taken up this issue seriously. Due to the various external factors, the American government has proposed new ideas that can control the population. The research centre in Washington has estimated that the U.S population may touch 500millions by the year 2050. The graph shows the estimated increase in the population in America. (Haub, 2008). The current population in U.S is more than 30 crores and there has been an increase in the fertility rate when compared to the past. When compared to the 20th century the population in U.S has tripled and the census has revealed the fact that U.S population cannot be controlled instantaneously. (Dexter, 2009). There are various issues that have contributed to the increase in the population. The immigration, increase in the fertility rate and the lack of sex education are the major reasons for the increase in the population. The various issues with their respective alternatives are discussed below. Immigration Immigration is one of the main reasons for the increase in the U.S population. There has been an enormous increase in the number of people who emigrate from other parts of the world. The development in the science and technology has grabbed the attention of many and people prefer U.S when compared to the other states. U.S has been one among the best places for the students to pursue their higher education. These people who pursue their education gradually settle down in U.S as soon as they get a suitable job. This in turn adds to the population and this also has a disadvantage. The natives of U.S are deprived of their chances in education and employment. (Haines, 2000). A survey that was conducted by the U.S Census Bureau reveals that the number of immigrants in the year 2005 was around 1.4milliion. This research also shows that the number of people who immigrate to U.S in the year 2050 will be around 2.1 million per year. This clearly states that the immigrants play a major part in the U.S population and the decrease in the number of immigrants will prove to be a relief. People who migrate from the other countries settle down in U.S and this creates various other problems like health issues. The government must make decisions to control this situation so that the population can be controlled. There are certain alternatives to address this issue. Alternatives to address Immigration Stringent Immigration Procedure The immigration procedure in U.S is not much complicated when compared to the other countries. Though the recent changes in the immigration procedure have reduced the number of immigrants, people who apply for the visa have not reduced. The government must pose certain restrictions so that the number of people who apply for the U.S visa will get reduced. In most of the cases, the people who are offered a visa try their best to extend their duration of stay and this in turn increases the population. The immigration procedure must be made stringent so that the number of people gets reduced. Since immigration is one the major problems in U.S, this alternative will certainly the address this issue. The duration to re-apply for the visa must also be extended and this will also help the government to have a control over the number of immigrants per year. Restriction over the period of stay The government must also make arrangements regarding the period of stay. Once a person is permitted to travel to U.S his period of stay must also be noted. The period of stay must preferably be short so that they do not make their stay a permanent one. The period of stay must be restricted and it must be decided based on the type of visa. Once the period of stay is restricted, the government will have a control; over the number of immigrants per year. (Haines, 2000). Immigration is the major issue that has increased the population and the government must make the necessary arrangements to tackle the situation. Since it contributes to the problems that arise in U.S, the measures must be implemented immediately. The alternatives must be evaluated based on certain unique criteria. These criteria must evaluate the method in such a way that the issue has been addressed in an effective manner. The evaluation criteria must evaluate the alternative in an effective manner and must identify the flaws in the proposed technique. The flaws must be identified and rectified immediately so that the technique works efficiently. Any alternative to address the issue cannot be implemented immediately. The solution will require some time to work effectively. It must be implemented in a simple manner and on a test basis. This will help the organization to identify whether it will suit the U.S government and its regulation policies. Once it has been found effective, it can be implemented on a large scale. The next major issue is the fertility rate. Since the fertility rate has increased, the government and other public sector organizations must impose certain ideas that would reduce the fertility rates. Fertility Rate America has been one of the popular countries where people from almost all parts of the world immigrate to. Apart from the Native Americans people from Africa, India and other countries make their living in America. This has led to the development and formation of various racist and ethnic groups. Though the discrimination among the blacks and the whites are abolished, there are places where people still form separate groups to establish their rights and liberties. (Chesler, 2007). Though people are educated, they lack the basic awareness about the increase of the population and the drawbacks. This issue has to be addressed to reduce the fertility rate. This will certainly have a great impact on the American population. This issue will require alternatives that can effectively reduce the number of births per year. (Rosenburg, 2010). The alternatives for this issue are considerably less when compared to the other issues. Replacement Rate The replacement rate is a concept that has been implemented in most of the fastest growing countries. This policy has been proved to be an effective measure in controlling the number of births per year. The replacement rate is derived based on the fertility rate of a particular country. This replacement rate defines the number of children a particular must maintain in order to reduce the population. This will also maintain the current level of population of a particular country. The replacement rate also ensures that the existing population is maintained to a certain extent. (Rosenburg, 2010).This is also referred to as zero population. People must follow this method to reduce the fertility rate and if this is implemented by the woman of a country, it will help the country to concentrate on people's welfare. To achieve positive results for this concept, the government must take steps to popularize this concept. This can be done by conducting awareness camps and medical camps that would enable the people to know more about these methods. Only when people are informed about these concepts, it would be easy for the government to maintain a stable fertility rate. The importance of this replacement rate, its advantages and the long term benefit must also be explained. (Haub, 2010). The main criterion of this alternative is the ability to identify the fertility rate of a country and then deriving the replacement rate. Based on this replacement rate the government should work towards achieving the goal of reducing the population. Though there are various policies to improve the current situation in U.S, the idea of replacement rate will prove to be the best alternative. A recent survey has revealed that the replacement rate in United States is 2.09 and this is comparatively lesser than the fertility rate. Country like China follows a unique policy named one child plan which has reduced the fertility rate to 1.75. The current fertility rate in China has reduced drastically compared to the past. This one child plan was implemented since China is the most populous country in the world. To tackle the situation the government implemented this plan and it turned out to be a success. (Rosenburg, 2010). These policies must be modified to suit the needs of the country. Since each of the country has different racist and ethnic groups, the fertility rate also differs. Even United States has groups like Hispanics and African Americans. The fertility and growth rate is entirely different for these two groups. Over the years there has been an increase in the number of people in these groups. Increase in the number of people in various groups: (Haub, 2008). This graph shows the increase of the ethnic and racial groups in United States. The graph exhibits the increase from the year 2005 and an estimate of the increase by the year 2050. Hence replacement rate is the best alternative to resolve the fertility rate and maintain the population of the United States. Contraception In the recent days contraception has become a common phenomenon. People in countries like America prefer contraception than abortion. Contraception and its uses were explained to the parents to avoid unforeseen abortions. This method gained more popularity as it was found to be an effective concept against increase in the population. Since the contraception can be done without medical practice, it is easy for the common people to make use of contraceptive pills. Hence this became a common practice to control the birth rate. This alternative was declared to be an effective birth control and population control mechanisms. Another issue that has also been posing great problems in United States is sex education. Sex Education Sex education is a controversial concept which created waves in the countries around the world. Educating children about sex was not approved by the government in all the countries. The government approved the policy of educating the children even in the schools. Initially the parents were against the method of educating children in their schools. But after a certain period of time there was a change in the people's mentality as they realized the importance of sex education. Though sex education has been approved, the form of sex education still remains as confusion. The alternative to resolve this issue is to provide basic sex education to the children studying in schools. This will considerably have a positive impact on the population control. America has been affected by various factors and these factors influence the rise of population. Difference between the Alternatives Each and every alternative has its own advantages and disadvantages. The alternatives like immigration control will be effective in America since the numbers of people who migrate to U.S are more. Year after year the number of people gets increased and this poses great difficulty to the Native Americans. The increase in the number of immigrants per year has led to a situation where the government must necessarily make some arrangements regarding the immigration procedure. This alternative is more advantageous to the country since it would reduce the number of immigrants within a short period of time. The alternatives must be analyzed with different criteria to evaluate their effectiveness. This can be achieved by using various evaluation approaches that define the basic criteria that an alternative must include. Any alternative must include features that can certainly work towards controlling the population. In each of these alternatives the people must be provided with proper information to make them aware of the importance of population control. The government and voluntary service organizations must deploy these methods in an effective manner so that the required result is obtained with in a shorter period of time. The alternative policies will yield better results when they are implemented on a proper basis. The population control cannot be achieved in a jiffy and it may take its own time. Increase in the population is a serious issue that has to be resolved immediately. Reference Mosher, S. (2008). Population Control. Real Costs, Illusionary Benefits. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. Chesler, E.(2007).Woman of Valor: Margaret Sangor and the Birth Control Movement in America. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc. Haines, M.( 2000). A Population History of North America. U.K: Cambridge University Press. Campbell, C.(2005). Demonstrating Stratification in a American Population, 37, 868-872. Dexter, F.(2009). Estimates of Population in the American Colonies. New York: American Antiquarian Society. Retrieved from: http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v37/n8/abs/ng1607.html Rosenburg, M. (2010). Total Fertility Rate: Total Fertility Rate Impacts a country's Population. Retrieved from: http://geography.about.com/od/populationgeography/a/fertilityrate.htm Haub, C. (2008). Population Increase in United States. Retrieved from: http://www.prb.org/Articles/2008/pewprojections.aspx Read More