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Some economists have become enablers of America’s addiction to population growth by writing and talking about growth--manufacturing and production growth, real estate and development growth, GDP growth--without noting the accompanying population growth that effectively reduces per capita growth. Thus, economists encourage growth for growth’s sake without considering potentially negative per capita growth.
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POPULATION & ECONOMICS
Ever notice when con artists are arrested for pyramid schemes, they often say, “If only they had let us operate for a little longer, everyone would have gotten their money back?”
A few economists and many politicians sound analogous when they say, “If only we had 20 million more young workers, everyone would get their Social Security retirement benefits.” Meanwhile, we move from 40 workers supporting each recipient of retirement benefits to 20 to one to 10 to one to 6 to one to . . . Will it end when each retiree has his own personal worker supporting his pension?
Like a rose, a pyramid scheme by any other name is still a pyramid scheme. So long as retirement benefits for retired workers rely on current contributions from active workers, Social Security can only be “saved” by one or more of the following: (a) increasing payroll taxes, (b) increasing the “normal” retirement age, (c) increasing earnings of trust fund investments, and/or (d) reducing retirement benefits.
A few economists argue the solution to this pyramid scheme is to import more young workers to pay into the Social Security system, i.e., increase immigration of young workers. Unfortunately, they don’t explain where these imported young workers are going to find jobs--unless they take jobs from existing U.S. workers. Nor do they explain how millions of low-paid young dish washers, lawn mowers, baby sitters, and hotel service workers are going to save Social Security, especially when many of them are part of the underground economy, i. e., paying little to nothing in payroll taxes. Increasing America’s population is a problem, not a solution.
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©2006 Edward C. Hartman. All Rights Reserved
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