“Where the heck did all of these people come from Stella?”

“I don’t know Sam. The caterer says we’re running out of canapés and there aren’t enough tables, chairs, place settings, food and drinks for all of these extra people.”

“How many people were invited to the wedding Stella?”

“Amy had 250 on the original invitation list. Then, some people were offended, and there was a lot of pressure to invite more guests. We were bullied into increasing the list to 280 people.”

“Okay, but who are these extra 40 people? Where did they come from?” 

“They just walked in the back door of the reception hall. No one was there to check invitations. They just started mingling and helping themselves to everything as if they were invited wedding guests,” Stella replied.

“Well, the caterer just told me there are another 30 potential wedding crashers walking through the parking lot and they not only expect to enter the building, they expect to stay for the entire reception. What should we do Stella?”

“I don’t know Sam. The thought never occurred to me. I never sensed strangers would just show up and crash the reception. I don’t know if we have enough supplies to take care of all of them. I don’t know how they even knew the reception was scheduled for today.”

“The security guy said he overheard some of the crashers calling their friends and telling them there was a great party taking place and they should come and join in on the fun. They said they could have all they wanted to eat and drink and they could stay as long as they wanted,” Sam groaned. “He is trying to guard the wedding presents, but that may not be an easy task.”

“There will be more than 350 here at the reception when we really only had the money and room to handle 250 wedding guests,” Stella lamented. “I had to borrow money from that Chinese couple we know to pay for this. We don’t have the income or savings to pay them back. How did this happen? What should we do? I don’t have a solution.”

It should come as no surprise that the population of the US and the world are both growing at a rapid pace. Change the numbers in the above scenario to millions and that is exactly what is taking place in the United States of America today. Most experts predict the population in America will exceed 350 million in the next ten years and surpass 400 million by 2050.

Meanwhile, the world population is growing at an even greater rate. The world population was 2.556 billion in 1950. It grew to 6.082 by 2000, and almost tripled to 7.293 billion in 2015. Most estimate the world population to reach 9.4 billion people by the year 2050. US population was 6.2 percent of world population in 1950. It decreased to 4.7 percent in the year 2000 and now is 4.4 percent. Nonetheless, this does not bode well for America.

The US population reached 250 million in 1990, a number most thought was the absolute limit the country could afford and absorb. Are the additional 75 million in the past 25 years stretching the limit, or is the population number limitless? Can we feed, clothe, house and keep safe another 30 million people? Do we have the resources and capacity to educate and provide health care to everyone?

While no reasonable person would deny the right of someone to be born, and live in America, the country does have a responsibility to provide an exceptional learning environment plus a stable economic opportunity to earn an excellent wage. The youth of America need an exceptional country to develop their many exceptional talents. The increasing national debt and decreasing student test scores are just two key indicators that confirm America is not heading in the right direction to provide the type of country required for our youth to flourish.

The question Sam and Stella must answer for Amy’s children is “are we thinking about their future while we allow our politicians to spend the country into oblivion?” Increased services for the party crashers will cost more and more in the future. The federal government will have to decide how to distribute more than $400 billion (10 percent of revenues) annually to state, local and tribal governments to sustain adequate services for all.

Will our inflated currency have enough value for our citizens to afford basic necessities for 350 million people? Can we grow enough non-GMO food to nourish the nation? Will there be good quality homes for all, or will increasing numbers be forced to live in sub-standard quarters? Is there enough fuel and energy to transport the goods we need and to also keep us warm in the winter?

Will our cities provide the same level of services like police, fire and emergency medical treatment to all citizens plus those who came in the back door plus those in the parking lot ready to crash the wedding reception? Will there be enough qualified physicians and medical personnel to treat 400 million people residing within the borders of this great country?

More questions to ask our politicians and more questions that continue to go unanswered. Qualified leadership and an informed citizenry must step up and take action. Increased taxes and spending is not the answer. 

Edmond Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.” The country needs to “reboot” and clear out the viruses Washington has imposed on us. Keep the Constitution; it works, but elect leaders who will work for America and keep the Constitution safe

Finally, an author who brings you solutions, instead of problems.

Americans have lost faith in their overreaching federal government. “We the People” don’t need to be overregulated or have their taxes misspent. Americans are victims of a crumbling economy, high prices and stagnant wages. They view government as bloated and politicians as corrupt. They do not trust the leadership at any level. They see politicians of both parties as self-centered narcissists whose only objective is re-election. The author is like you, with one principal difference and 20 reasons for optimism. His “Vision” of America is “clear.” It is a vision of the Constitution and America the way it could be, the way it should be. The author’s eyesight is twenty-twenty.