Well clearly the "People would have children" part of the contract has fallen apart in Finland, Europe and almost the entire civilised world.
Well clearly the "People would have children" part of the contract has fallen apart in Finland, Europe and almost the entire civilised world.
In the past, an economy needed physical activity to grow, which meant more people. Now, not so much.
However, I don't think the reason for many is actually a lack of money to support kids, but rather, a desire to hold onto childhood themselves. Having children is inconvenient, and since we don't need them to look after us in old age, or take over the farm or business, the incentive really isn't there.
Wise insights as to why people are not having children, but the idea that an economy can grow without them is wrong.
Firstly economic growth is driven by increasing consumption. Fewer consumers (especially in wealthy countries) means less consumption.
No amount of AI and robotics can compensate for that.
No amount of third world population growth (which is itself slowing rapidly) can compensate for the endless decline in the number of consumers in advanced economies.
Moreover as people age they naturally spend less, both because they already have what they need and also because the natural aging processes mean they are less consumerist.
Fewer and fewer consumers every year means that long term economic growth is impossible. It means the stock prices, which are based on PE ratios, will fall.
Less wealth means remaining consumers spend less which drives down demand further.
Its a vicious and extremely destructive cycle of civilisational suicide that has happened to successful civilisations many times before in history and is playing out very rapidly on a global scale right now.
No, I get this and should have clarified. The corporations don't care about the long term, they are in to maximize now. They aren't in it for a balanced economy, they are in it for quarterly and annual shareholder wealth.
And with all we know, all the knowledge and history at our fingertips - here we are again.
I don't know about Finland, but in the US with housing costs so high and so many people literally living paycheck to paycheck and medical debt bankrupting people, there are so many people that want kids but simply can't afford them.
Friends of ours were charged $90,000 for the birth of their child after there were some complications and the baby ended up in the ICU. There had been a mix up with heath insurance papers and they got it sorted out, but many people simply have to pay.
The US healthcare system is insane. I don't understand how it is a superpower, or why anyone other than the wealthy that benefit from it, would defend it.
Abbott is a US pharma:
Pfizer another US:
But hey - the land of the free!