America set to hit 300 million and counting

[Satty]

Clicky

Milestone baby likely to be Hispanic

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. population is on target to hit 300 million this fall and it's a good bet the milestone baby -- or immigrant -- will be Hispanic.

No one will know for sure because the date and time will be just an estimate.

But Latinos -- immigrants and those born in this country -- are driving the population growth, accounting for almost half the increase last year, more than any other ethnic or racial group.

White non-Hispanics, who make up about two-thirds of the population, accounted for less than one-fifth of the increase.

When the population reached 200 million in 1967, there was no accurate tally of U.S. Hispanics. The first effort to count Hispanics came in the 1970 census, and the results were dubious.

The Census Bureau counted about 9.6 million Latinos, a little less than 5 percent of the population, but the bureau acknowledged that figure was inflated.

In 1967, there were fewer than 10 million people in the U.S. who were born in other countries; that was not even one in 20.

Today, there are 36 million immigrants, about one in eight.

"We were much more of an insular society back then," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

As of early Sunday, there were 299,058,932 people in the United States, according to the Census Bureau's population clock. The estimate is based on annual numbers for births, deaths and immigration, averaged throughout the year.

The 300-millionth person in the U.S. will likely be born -- or cross the border -- in October, though bureau officials are wary of committing to a particular month because of the subjective nature of the clock.

Awww...mine is due in August, wont be the 300 millionth citizen, though he will be partly hispanic.

[NOS2006]

"or cross the border"

[Flybrian]

This story is

Hispanic and white overlaps in so many facets and overshadowing that is the impossiblity to tabulate what baby is the 300 millionth. Someone just wants attention.

[the_yellow_dart]

2006 will also be the year where the global urban population surpasses the global rural population. In other words, all over the world by the end of this year there will be more people living in cities than in the country. That's a scary thought, where are all the farmers?

[NOS2006]

That's a scary thought, where are all the farmers?

Obviously you haven't been to MI...

[Satty]

Obviously you haven't been to MI...

Where all the farmers are in the unemployment lines?

[NOS2006]

Where all the farmers are in the unemployment lines?

Really.. north of me is all farmland and south of me (including where I am) is where the unemployment lines are.

[the_yellow_dart]

Where it scares me more though NOS is in places like China and India. That is where the population is moving so quickly to make this shift happen. How are they going to feed themselves if everyone moves to the city?

[NOS2006]

I have an idea.. two of every three "border-jumpers" must be farmers for 20 years to become US citizens. The other third of them will get sent back.

[the_yellow_dart]

Actually - there is a good idea hiding in that sarcasm. Register to be a farmer, and you can come over legally.

[ocnblu]

Farming is a hard life. You are at the mercy of the weather. It's like legalized, arduous gambling. If the weather is poor, crop prices generally go up (the price the farmer is paid for his crop), but of course you have fewer crops to sell. If the weather is good, crop prices generally go down because of the abundance. And overhead is a bitch. And the hours? Horrible, especially if you have livestock in addition to crops. Crop farmers at least have a break in winter from the daily grind, but with livestock you are tied tightly to home and farm.

Luckily, modern equipment allows for much greater productivity from fewer workers.

[capriceman]

yeah you nailed it OCN.

Anyway have you ever been to North Dakota? Flater than sheet metal for miles of just farm land also the middle of Canada is all Farmland.

And Bieng a Farmer SUCKS really it does I was Cheap Labor during the Summers for my Family back In the day

[sciguy_0504]

Funny thing is that we have long passed 300,000,000 with all of the illegals included.