Population control - do we need it?

[SS4]

The problem with that is that you have to take into consideration each individuals needs and work it out from there, with regular updating needed as circumstances change, which would almost certainly be an administrative nightmare.

So is Universal Credit but the government are still planning to go ahead with it. I wholly agree with your point though.

 

[Oswyntail]

....The general issue with financial penalties on children is that the rich can continue to have kids and suddenly we're back in Victorian times.

I thought Victorian Times were a tad different, with a population explosion among the "working classes". If the "rich" continue to have larger families, then, eventually, the "working classes" would become more valuable, and better rewarded.If you are the only ****-shoveller in town, you command a high rate. Thus, over time, wealth would be redistributed.

....A population full of Tories is the stuff of nightmares.

Agreed - we need diversity. But don't forget that true Conservatism is also about the good of all in society, and differs from socialism only on the means of achieving it. After all, many Democrats in the US thought Thatcher was a bit left-wing for them! I suppose the debate here is between managing the population through state control (cf China - a Socialist approach) or letting economic forces do the job (Conservative).

 

[Metroland]

How do you reduce energy consumption though? If you use a price lever then the people that often use the most energy will just continue as they will be able to afford it and the poorer people could end up with bills they can't afford even with their lower use.

European energy consumption is much lower than say the US, Canada and some Arab countries because of energy taxes. People moan in the UK out the high cost of tax on fuel, but we have much, much more efficient cars and raise tax for other uses etc

The US and Canada are obviously bigger countries, so energy consumption would probably be higher in any case.

Having said that, India has a figure of 22 GJ per capita per annum, and China 48. This compared to 328 GJ in the US, around 15 times more than India.

Over 2 billion people in India and China alone (with a combined population over 7 times the US level) are dreaming the American dream and want to bring their consumption up to US levels.

It's not just energy either, it's metals, water, building materials and either stuff.

These issues will define the 21st century!

 

[43021HST]

So to sum up the thread, We dont need population control, we need distrubution control.