Guess What? The US is Bigger than Ever.

Hopefully you said "That's Great!" after reading the above. We know we did when we read the Census Bureau will announce the US population reached 300 million this month. Some see this as cause for great alarm, but such a worry is lost on us.

The worrywarts often cite resource scarcity, an aging population and the retirement of the baby boomer generation as causes for concern. We find little credence to these arguments.

The world is not running out of resources. The Malthusians who argue this fail to take into account the massive powers of productivity gains and innovation. The US is already much less energy intensive than it was 20-30 years ago because of this phenomenon. Over the longer-term, alternatives will be found to substitute for increasingly scare resources.

The US population is also not aging at a worrisome rate, especially when compared to other countries. Right now, the median age in the US is less than any G7 country and will be less than developing countries such as China, Indonesia and Brazil in 50 years. And the baby boomer generation spans 20 years, so their retirement from the workforce and liquidation of securities is just starting now and will be slow and gradual.

This country's continued growth is largely a product of the optimism and economic opportunity in the US compared to the rest of the world… something to celebrate, not lament.