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> At the net macroeconomic level, workers make stuff and a portion of that gets redirected to taxes, debt repayment, and return-on-capital that non-workers then
by treis 8y ago
> At the net macroeconomic level, workers make stuff and a portion of that gets redirected to taxes, debt repayment, and return-on-capital that non-workers then consume
It's not quite that simple. "Stuff" can be divided into things we consume (spending) and things that build more stuff (investment). You can spend more on factories, infrastructure, etc. and then shift towards consumables as the number of non-workers increase. Of course we didn't do that, but it's at least theoretically possible.
- ThrustVectoring 8y agoThe marginal factory has an expected net present value of zero - if it were positive, market forces would already be adding them. Maybe you can find some examples of over-regulated long-lived infrastructure (nuclear power comes to mind), or non-excludable goods (roads and bridges), but there's a remaining problem that these things don't typically live long enough for a 30 year old to build and then enjoy the fruits thereof in their 80s.