In his retirement, Pete Murphy of Independence Township has one goal: save his country from economic disaster caused by unchecked population growth.
‘Growing population density is contributing to declining per capita consumption,? said Murphy, 58, author of ‘Five Short Blasts, A New Economic Theory Exposes the Fatal Flaw in Globalization and its Consequences for America.?
‘The objective of the book is to warn people about the imminent collision of falling consumption and rising productivity.?
The solutions he offers in his book would be difficult and controversial, he said. Instead of free trade, ‘smart trade.? Protect the U.S. with tariffs indexed to population density. Reduce immigration, legal as well as illegal. Stabilize the population, perhaps with a Department of Population.
‘I envision using economic and tax policy to influence people for smaller families,? he said.
In discussions, economists usually dismiss his theory as ‘Malthusian.? In the 1800s, Thomas Malthus theorized population would outpace food supply, leading to disease, war, and famine. Modern economists argue technology advances invalidate Malthus? ideas as too pessimistic.
In recent times, however, population has grown past the point where technology can compensate, dramatically increasing national debt and lowering individual earnings, Murphy said.
Free trade has allowed countries already overpopulated to transfer its negative effects onto the United States, in effect making each American poorer. Among the biggest is China, but only because of its physical size and population. The same trade problems exist with countries all over the world, Murphy said.
‘In effect, it transfers the effects they should have to the United States,? he said.
He describes southeast Michigan as ‘ground zero? in the globalization attack on the United States.
‘If this idea can’t take root here in southeast Michigan, it won’t take root anywhere,? he said
Murphy, 58, earned a degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame. After four years in the U.S. Navy, he spent his career as an engineer with Dow, living in Ohio, Missouri, and Texas before retiring to Michigan.
Fourteen years ago, on a trip with his wife, Nancy, and their two sons to the St. Louis Science Center, an exhibit caught his eye.
A graph showed how world population stayed steady at about 250 million people until around 1700, when it sharply increased up to about 6 billion now.
‘It starts climbing like a rocket,? he said. ‘I thought, that has to be a problem. It can’t go on like that.?
Murphy, a political Independent, doesn’t see much hope with most Republicans or Democrats on these issues. Both favor free trade and population growth, and neither would do much to reverse trade deficits, he said.
So he spent years researching the economics of international trade and wrote ‘Five Short Blasts,? published this year.
With the book, named after the signal naval vessels use to warn of impending collision, he hopes to spread his ideas at the grassroots level.
‘How will I know if I’m successful ? I’ll likely never know,? he said. ‘I may be successful if one person buys my book, if that person takes action to enact policies that address these concerns.?
The book, self published through Open Window Publishing, is available for $16.95 at Amazon.com.
Murphy recently created a web site, www.openwindowpublishingco.com.
“It has lots of information about the book and I’ve included a blog, the purpose of which is to further explore how this new economic theory relates to current events,” he said.