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However, there is still the fact that the more elderly there are, the more resources are drained to help them, which I am not saying is a bad thing, but to keep

However, there is still the fact that the more elderly there are, the more resources are drained to help them, which I am not saying is a bad thing, but to keep the cycle of social security cheques and pensions going, you need more people in the workforce who can work to pay taxes who in turn hope to receive the same benefits when they come of that age. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/071514/why-social-security-running-out-money.asp https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/071514/why-social-s...

toomuchtodo 5y ago
These elderly will eventually pass. This temporary increase in drag on economic productivity (“the pig in the Python”) is what you sign up for when your population can’t grow forever. The world has never been wealthier; we can afford a bit more elderly care costs for a window of time. Everyone likes to spend on a credit card, no one likes it when the statement comes and you have to pay.
- LeifCarrotson 5y ago
  Your [1] footnote seems to be missing...a search turns up plenty of references, and the analogy itself with the context of demographics is descriptive enough, but I'm curious what you were going to link to.
  - toomuchtodo 5y ago
    Baby boomer reference to Pig in the Python term. Removed because I didn’t feel it relevant when discussing world population versus a US centric cohort. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomers
enlyth 5y ago
And how long can we keep this infinite growth of people going? That's clearly not sustainable either
- bryanlarsen 5y ago
  Under no plausible estimation do we have infinite growth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_growth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_grow...
greeneggs 5y ago
It's worse than that. Not only will social security be more difficult to fund, but private retirement savings will also be more difficult. Saving for retirement is much easier with a fast-growing economy in which you can get high rates of return. With a slower-growing, or even flat, economy, stocks and other investments should appreciate more slowly, too. (There are fewer good investment opportunities when the size of the pie is fixed.)
- NickM 5y ago
  A flat population does not necessarily mean economic growth must stop. Economic growth can still come from plenty of other places, like better infrastructure, technology improvements, various types of efficiency gains, etc. etc.
droptablemain 5y ago
Social security tax phaseout is currently ~$140k per year. It's fairly absurd that the Elon Musks and Jeff Bezos of the world pay roughly the same amount into Social Security as an average programmer.
- throwawayboise 5y ago
  Why? Are they going to get substantially more benefits from SS than an average programmer?
  - droptablemain 5y ago
    Social security is not a personal slush fund. It is a social program. What you're describing would be an anti-social program.

toomuchtodo 5y ago

These elderly will eventually pass. This temporary increase in drag on economic productivity (“the pig in the Python”) is what you sign up for when your population can’t grow forever. The world has never been wealthier; we can afford a bit more elderly care costs for a window of time. Everyone likes to spend on a credit card, no one likes it when the statement comes and you have to pay.

LeifCarrotson 5y ago
Your [1] footnote seems to be missing...a search turns up plenty of references, and the analogy itself with the context of demographics is descriptive enough, but I'm curious what you were going to link to.
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  Baby boomer reference to Pig in the Python term. Removed because I didn’t feel it relevant when discussing world population versus a US centric cohort. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomers

enlyth 5y ago

And how long can we keep this infinite growth of people going? That's clearly not sustainable either

bryanlarsen 5y ago
Under no plausible estimation do we have infinite growth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_growth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_grow...

greeneggs 5y ago

It's worse than that. Not only will social security be more difficult to fund, but private retirement savings will also be more difficult. Saving for retirement is much easier with a fast-growing economy in which you can get high rates of return. With a slower-growing, or even flat, economy, stocks and other investments should appreciate more slowly, too. (There are fewer good investment opportunities when the size of the pie is fixed.)

NickM 5y ago
A flat population does not necessarily mean economic growth must stop. Economic growth can still come from plenty of other places, like better infrastructure, technology improvements, various types of efficiency gains, etc. etc.

droptablemain 5y ago

Social security tax phaseout is currently ~$140k per year. It's fairly absurd that the Elon Musks and Jeff Bezos of the world pay roughly the same amount into Social Security as an average programmer.

throwawayboise 5y ago
Why? Are they going to get substantially more benefits from SS than an average programmer?
- droptablemain 5y ago
  Social security is not a personal slush fund. It is a social program. What you're describing would be an anti-social program.