The Terrible Price of the Welfare Contract
Bad Luck, Suckers!
Interesting article in today's "Sydney Morning Herald" by Anne Summers. Summers isn't someone I normally have much time for as her articles tend to be feminist bleating and other victimhood stuff.
Today, however, in "Back to work, it seems, any way you can" she talks about the topical issue of Australia's aging population and the fact that we seem to be running out of workers.
As a result, "older" people are being urged to either stay in the workforce longer or rejoin the ranks of the wage-slave taxpayer. Summers rightly comments on the irony of all this after years of corporate downsizing when "older" workers were usually the first to get the chop.
Of course, what's really driving all this is the dawning realisation that the aging population is going to make the economics of the welfare state completely untenable. The promises that governments have blithely made over the last 50 years have been based on the fallacy of "pay as you go" funding i.e. current workers pay for the benefits of current welfare recipients and hope that when it's their turn there will be enough new workers to make the payments.
Well, the aging population has exposed this cruel hoax. There simply aren't going to be enough workers in the future to pay the taxes required. Sooner or later governments will welch on their promises. We're already starting to see it with retirement ages being pushed up and benfits being trimmed back.
It's a terrible situation for the average person. Having sold their soul to the government for the illusion of "security" they will find that the promises will not be delivered. They'll be faced with the prospect of continuing to have to work to fund the appetite of big government for tax dollars.
As all this dawns on the general population, one wonders what impact this is going to have. If the government isn't delivering on its promises, will people wonder why they're paying so much tax?
As a final thought, what's caused the decline in the birth rate that's lead to the demographic crisis? It's certainly a complex issue and as a general observation as societies get wealthier, the birth rate certainly declines. However, one element rarely commented on is what has been the impact of the welfare state? As the tax burden has increased inexorably, the cost of raising children has been a heavier burden.
There's also a moral and spiritual aspect. One insidious effect of the welfare state and collectivism has been to undermine the self-reliance and independence of the individual. If the government promises to look after everyone "from the cradle to the grave" why bother to look after yourself? And why bother with kids?
None of this is sustainable of course. Austalia is actually in a relatively good situation. Compulsory superannuation was introduced some time ago and the welfare state isn't as out of control as elsewhere. The fact that politicians are even addressing the topic is encouraging. Elsewhere in places such as France, Germany and Italy the situation is dire.
Interesting article in today's "Sydney Morning Herald" by Anne Summers. Summers isn't someone I normally have much time for as her articles tend to be feminist bleating and other victimhood stuff.
Today, however, in "Back to work, it seems, any way you can" she talks about the topical issue of Australia's aging population and the fact that we seem to be running out of workers.
As a result, "older" people are being urged to either stay in the workforce longer or rejoin the ranks of the wage-slave taxpayer. Summers rightly comments on the irony of all this after years of corporate downsizing when "older" workers were usually the first to get the chop.
Of course, what's really driving all this is the dawning realisation that the aging population is going to make the economics of the welfare state completely untenable. The promises that governments have blithely made over the last 50 years have been based on the fallacy of "pay as you go" funding i.e. current workers pay for the benefits of current welfare recipients and hope that when it's their turn there will be enough new workers to make the payments.
Well, the aging population has exposed this cruel hoax. There simply aren't going to be enough workers in the future to pay the taxes required. Sooner or later governments will welch on their promises. We're already starting to see it with retirement ages being pushed up and benfits being trimmed back.
It's a terrible situation for the average person. Having sold their soul to the government for the illusion of "security" they will find that the promises will not be delivered. They'll be faced with the prospect of continuing to have to work to fund the appetite of big government for tax dollars.
As all this dawns on the general population, one wonders what impact this is going to have. If the government isn't delivering on its promises, will people wonder why they're paying so much tax?
As a final thought, what's caused the decline in the birth rate that's lead to the demographic crisis? It's certainly a complex issue and as a general observation as societies get wealthier, the birth rate certainly declines. However, one element rarely commented on is what has been the impact of the welfare state? As the tax burden has increased inexorably, the cost of raising children has been a heavier burden.
There's also a moral and spiritual aspect. One insidious effect of the welfare state and collectivism has been to undermine the self-reliance and independence of the individual. If the government promises to look after everyone "from the cradle to the grave" why bother to look after yourself? And why bother with kids?
None of this is sustainable of course. Austalia is actually in a relatively good situation. Compulsory superannuation was introduced some time ago and the welfare state isn't as out of control as elsewhere. The fact that politicians are even addressing the topic is encouraging. Elsewhere in places such as France, Germany and Italy the situation is dire.
posted by Kevin Francis at
10:02 pm
