Newsletter January 1997 Click here for an index of Newsletter . There is a growing belief that entitlements cannot be maintained in their current forms in the coming decades. With this question in mind, the second day of the policy conference was devoted to panels on entitlements and the difficulties they pose for the future.
Demography Is Destiny .
The first discussion explored the broad trends in the growth and age of America's population and their consequences for entitlement programs. By the time those born in 1959 retire, the ratio will have plummeted to less than two to one. Government downsizing is coming, like it or not, regardless of who controls Congress. Demographic trends, not political principles, will force reform. Samuel H. Preston, head of the Center for Population Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, explained that the populations of most developed nations are aging because of low birth rates and increases in life expectancy.