May 25, 2002

I may slap someone silly

I may slap someone silly if I hear anyone cry out about the planet running out of room for people. Japan's worried that their population will begin decreasing by 2007. The U.N. says Japan would need to bring in millions of workers just to stabilize the workforce.

If this happens (population predictions have bounced from one extreme to the other almost as much as global warming/ice age predications) immigration is one solution. Another is plain old entrepreneurship. Businesses and factories crying out for workers will have to redesign their business methods. Computers and robots may have to fill the worker gap. Maybe Japanese workers will have to push back retirement and work longer because of longer lifespans. What Japan shouldn't do is try to out guess the market and subsidized particular solutions. More than likely, the government would guess wrong and cause even more problems.

"Population Trends Pose Major Risks For Stability In Japan, Elsewhere"