How California Has Grown
Published on December 31st, 2007
Letter to the Editor, Los Angeles Times
Re: "More flee state than move in" Dec. 20, 2007
By Kenneth Pasternack, Santa Barbara
December 26, 2007
The Times underplays California’s population growth from immigration by stating that growth over the last year rested on "births and the arrival of more than 200,000 immigrants." Who gave birth to all those children? In fact, almost half of California’s babies are born to immigrant mothers. By reducing immigration, California (and the nation) could reduce births as well. During the current immigration debate, Americans should understand that since the baby boom ended in the 1960s, the U.S. switched from internal growth to importing growth.
Growth across the country is now driven by a threefold increase in immigration along with a shift to immigrants from cultures in which large families predominate.
Kenneth Pasternack is a Senior Writing Fellow for Californians for Population Stabilization.