Today, the US stands out as the only leading industrial power with a surging population. (India may be the only other) Because of immigration and higher birth rates, the US population is now growing 2 or 3 times faster than any other major country, far faster than China's (which is strongly controlled). Other major countries like Russia, Japan and Germany, are already starting to lose population.

This shift in population trends will directly impact economies, from the growth of the work force to consumption patterns. And it will put unprecedented stress on pension and health systems. The US will also be aging, but less faster than most of Europe.

Some think that America's changing racial mix will cause problems. They worry that the emergence of a "majority minority" population will see the end traditional Anglo-Saxon values, replaced by pockets of ethnic communities. But the opposite is true - most immigrants want experience "the American dream", not duplicate the conditions they left behind. Studies indicate that most immigrants integrate into the American mainstream, both linguistically and culturally. Indeed, the "eclectic" mix is America's strength.

We need to deal with the future by doing the things that Americans have always done - building new infrastructure, giving people the opportunity to work and take care of themselves and their families. Most major surges of economic growth and population have been stimulated by such investments - canals in the early 19th century; railroads during the industrial age; roads, bridges and electrification 50 years ago. We need to commit ourselves to building new infrastructure: more universal high-capacity broadband, better drainage systems, new electric transmission lines and renewable energy sources, better roads and innovative forms of public transit.

Building toll roads or super-fast trains between burgeoning Texan or Californian cities offers far better prospects than doing the same in Japan or Germany, whose populations are gradually diminishing.

My old friend Joel Kotkin writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal and many other major newspapers and journals. He wrote an excellent and thought-provoking article (WSJ - October 2006) summarized here.