Poverty and overpopulation

As a young person in the United States, it can often be overwhelmingly frustrating to feel that we are left to deal with the consequences of our parents’ and grandparents’ actions. Overpopulation and the environmental impacts that come with it have caused many young people to not have children. But what if I told you there was another way we could combat overpopulation?

When we look at overpopulation on a global scale, we can see that some of the world’s poorest countries have some of the largest family sizes. Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. It is also ranked as the country with the third-largest household size in 2020, averaging around 8 people per household. This may not be very intuitive, but when we consider the rates of infant and child mortality in poor countries compared to our own, we can understand why people choose to have more children.

By improving conditions that cause children to not survive into adulthood, parents can feel more secure in having smaller families. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray have supported poverty relief in the past, and I urge Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers to join them.

Emily Menshew

Spokane