WASHINGTON — While many say seven billion is too many, one population expert said “the more of us there are, the more prosperous we have become.”
Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, celebrated the momentous birth of the seven billionth person in the world Monday. Although it is difficult to keep track of every single birth, the number is pretty accurate, he said.
Mosher spoke at the National Press Building, the same day presidential nominee Herman Cain dominated media attention on the opposite end of the floor.
“We are grateful that Baby Seven Billion will come into this world,” he said. “Baby Seven Billion, boy or girl, red or yellow, black or white, is not a liability, but an asset; not a curse, but a blessing for us all.”
He spoke against those who consider population growth a crisis that harms economic development.
“The danger in saying there are too many people, the danger in saying there are too many children being born is that the people in charge use those arguments against the have nots,” Mosher said.
There will be nationwide labor shortages in China within the next few years because it has eliminated nearly 400 million people from its population, Mosher said.
“Human beings are the ultimate resource, the one resource you cannot do without,“ he said.