June 11, 2015
There have been numerous articles and columns about how China is going to suffer because of its one child policy. The story is that there will be very few workers to support the growing population of retirees.
Well, just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it turns out that robots are coming to take the jobs of the few workers China still has. How are they ever going to be able to support their retirees now?
Yes, these are completely opposite stories. It’s too hot and too cold. It’s too wet and too dry.
Look, there can be some truth to either of these stories. The first story is one where there is a problem of too little supply. Everyone is retired and there are not enough workers left to care for the elderly.
The second story is one of too little demand. The robots are doing all the work so no one has a paycheck to pay for the things they need. In this story, the robots are caring for the retirees, we don’t need any workers to do it.
The fact that both of these stories can be told by people with claims to being serious speaks volumes about the state of economic debate in policy circles. Why do people put up with economists?
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