Question

Consider the following:
An American politician has instructed one of the members of their staff to make a prediction for the US population in the year 2050. The staffer does a Google search for the US population in the year 2000 (282.2 million) and 2015 (320.7 million). Next, they created the equation of a line to fit the data: y = 2.567x - 4851.133. Lastly, they used x = 2050 to get an estimate of 411.217 million people. Another staffer reviews all the math and it seems good.


Instructions for Original Post:
Please respond to the following.

1) Why is a linear regression inappropriate here?

2) Do you believe this is an overestimate or underestimate for the true US population in 2050?

Answer 1