Running out of workers

Countries in the West and others in the East like Japan, China and South Korea are losing population. Social security programs depend on current workers supporting current retirees and people are having fewer children and living longer. The only solution is to raise the retirement age and/or cut benefits to retirees but politicians who suggest such things are not reelected. Some feel that bringing in immigrants will solve the problem but the math shows that only postpones the problem and eventually makes things worse. Two recent attempts at using immigration illustrate the problem. Canada began bringing in 500,000 immigrants per year. This is a country with a population of 40 million. It would be like the US bringing in 4 million immigrants per year. Adding to the problem was Canada’s merit-based immigration system, that gave preferential treatment to immigrants with higher education and special skills. This allowed them to receive higher wages which drove up the price of housing to the point where native Canadians can no longer afford a house. Another example is Germany. They began bringing in millions of new comers mostly from Africa and the Middle East and the majority were Muslims. Immigration was too rapid and the new people could not or would not assimilate. Now they are deporting them. One possible solution looming on the horizon is AI. It is possible that robots could manufacture goods so efficiently that people could work less and still have their needs provided. In the 1930’s the 40-hour week became the standard. Perhaps the time has come for the 30-hour week. Then it might be more acceptable to raise the retirement age.