4 ms·

It's supply and demand - the supply of workers has doubled the last decades while demand has remained roughly the same. I think it's a miracle that salaries are

by fazfq 4y ago

It's supply and demand - the supply of workers has doubled the last decades while demand has remained roughly the same. I think it's a miracle that salaries are so high currently.

ianai 4y ago
This is actually contrary to Econ theory and empirical data. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33394486 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33394486 The trend is towards less immigration and thus lower demand for goods/services and lower supply of labor.
- cma 4y ago
  I think he is mainly talking about woman entering the workforce since 1970ish, which massively increased the labor pool.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
BaseballPhysics 4y ago
Assuming that's true--and I'm not sure it is--mass retirement of baby boomers, which has already begun due to forced retirement during the pandemic, is going to absolutely decimate the labour supply, which has enormous knock-on effects (including a rise in inflation).
- scruple 4y ago
  You can go back to the year 2000 and find Fox News and CNN talking heads warning us about the impending doom of baby boomers retiring and taking the economy with them. Any year now... What has actually transpired in the meantime has been record breaking bailouts, corporate handouts, and profits, while workers pay remains in stagnation and housing market inflation goes through the roof (because of slow development, IMO, attributed to NIMBYism, mixed with a nationwide inability to build densely or build public transportation infrastructure). edit/ And let's not forget, there have also been 2 disastrous, major wars, one of which inarguably never should have occurred.
  - BaseballPhysics 4y ago
    > You can go back to the year 2000 and find Fox News and CNN talking heads warning us about the impending doom of baby boomers retiring and taking the economy with them. Any year now... Yeah. And now it's happening. Back in 2000 the average baby boomer was 35-55, far from retirement age. The average baby boomer is now 55-75, and after COVID forced a ton of them out of the labour force, they're choosing not to come back. See, you can report about a thing that's likely to happen in the future before it actually happens, and in the intervening period, while it may not be happening, that doesn't mean the reporting is wrong. Or are you also one of those types that thinks the media was overblowing the whole global warming thing because they deigned to report about it before we saw some of the more dramatic and visible effects? Frankly, I don't know what you're going on about in the rest of your comment. I made no claim that baby boomers aging out of the workforce explains All The Things. I certainly didn't make the claim that it explains trends in the economy up to this point. My point is that it's now a major factor in the economy going forward and we can expect major changes as a consequence.
  - pixl97 4y ago
    Any year now started in 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/04/amid-the-pandemic-a-rising-share-of-older-u-s-adults-are-now-retired/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/04/amid-the-pa...

by fazfq 4y ago

It's supply and demand - the supply of workers has doubled the last decades while demand has remained roughly the same. I think it's a miracle that salaries are so high currently.

ianai 4y ago

This is actually contrary to Econ theory and empirical data. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33394486 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33394486 The trend is towards less immigration and thus lower demand for goods/services and lower supply of labor.

cma 4y ago
I think he is mainly talking about woman entering the workforce since 1970ish, which massively increased the labor pool.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

BaseballPhysics 4y ago

Assuming that's true--and I'm not sure it is--mass retirement of baby boomers, which has already begun due to forced retirement during the pandemic, is going to absolutely decimate the labour supply, which has enormous knock-on effects (including a rise in inflation).

scruple 4y ago
You can go back to the year 2000 and find Fox News and CNN talking heads warning us about the impending doom of baby boomers retiring and taking the economy with them. Any year now... What has actually transpired in the meantime has been record breaking bailouts, corporate handouts, and profits, while workers pay remains in stagnation and housing market inflation goes through the roof (because of slow development, IMO, attributed to NIMBYism, mixed with a nationwide inability to build densely or build public transportation infrastructure). edit/ And let's not forget, there have also been 2 disastrous, major wars, one of which inarguably never should have occurred.
- BaseballPhysics 4y ago
  > You can go back to the year 2000 and find Fox News and CNN talking heads warning us about the impending doom of baby boomers retiring and taking the economy with them. Any year now... Yeah. And now it's happening. Back in 2000 the average baby boomer was 35-55, far from retirement age. The average baby boomer is now 55-75, and after COVID forced a ton of them out of the labour force, they're choosing not to come back. See, you can report about a thing that's likely to happen in the future before it actually happens, and in the intervening period, while it may not be happening, that doesn't mean the reporting is wrong. Or are you also one of those types that thinks the media was overblowing the whole global warming thing because they deigned to report about it before we saw some of the more dramatic and visible effects? Frankly, I don't know what you're going on about in the rest of your comment. I made no claim that baby boomers aging out of the workforce explains All The Things. I certainly didn't make the claim that it explains trends in the economy up to this point. My point is that it's now a major factor in the economy going forward and we can expect major changes as a consequence.
- pixl97 4y ago
  Any year now started in 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/04/amid-the-pandemic-a-rising-share-of-older-u-s-adults-are-now-retired/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/04/amid-the-pa...