tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019578584768795401.post2824494770104751129..comments2023-09-08T11:36:24.207+02:00Comments on Mat Rodina: American Professionals Need Passports to SurviveStanislavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01399899593777065344noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019578584768795401.post-81918963300715350802009-02-13T11:24:00.000+02:002009-02-13T11:24:00.000+02:00Stanislav,I only have time to deal with one of you...Stanislav,<BR/><BR/>I only have time to deal with one of your many absurd assertions in this column. Perhaps something was lost in translation.<BR/><BR/>You claimed: <I>"Americans as a people, have an ingrained fear of travelling out side of their own little world."</I> And if that wasn't absurd enough, you went on to speculate that: <I>"Only 10% of Americans will ever have a passport,..."</I><BR/><BR/>I'm not sure how you divined the numbers or see the future, but in the past 10 years -- the period for which a U.S. passport is valid -- 101 million U.S. passports have been issued.[1] That amounts to roughly one-third the U.S. population with a currently valid passport. <BR/><BR/>Since 20.1 percent of the population is ages 0-14 years and 12 percent is over 65 years of age,[2] combined they represent the age groups who are least likely to travel to foreign countries under any circumstances. <BR/><BR/>So roughly half of the 203 million people in the age group most likely to travel (15-64) currently have passports. Additionally, in three months new regulations will require at least a "passport card" to travel to and from Mexico and Canada (border countries), a requirement that does not currently exist. I think we will see a spike in passports issued this year.<BR/><BR/>Neither time nor space allow me to address your other ill-founded assertions. I'll leave it by saying that this wasn't one of your better columns. <BR/><BR/>Sources:<BR/><BR/>[1] U.S. Dept. of State<BR/>http://travel.state.gov/passport/services/stats/stats_890.html<BR/><BR/>[2] CIA World Factbook<BR/>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html#PeopleNonin Stonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06831138287945182489noreply@blogger.com