Younger than We Ever Were
Maybe I'm one of those people... but I think there's more gas in the tank than the needle is showing.
The most fundamental fact driving Nova Scotia’s political thinking is wrong, but the secret truth is coming out.
The Ivany report, Nova Scotia's economic bible for the past decade, posited that Nova Scotia is aging—and that aging is bad. This notion has shaped every government initiative and economic development scheme. But is it true?
In economic terms, what matters isn't how long we've lived but how many productive, healthy, tax-paying years we have left to live and contribute. And in this sense, Nova Scotia is younger than ever.
In a 2018 paper entitled “Is 60 the New 50?”, scientists from Yale University and the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, looked at what they call “biological age.” When we celebrate our birthday, we are recognizing our chronological age; but researchers are now interested in how old our body really is biologically.
When you look at the gas gauge you’re concerned with how much you have left in the tank. It should be the same in economics and government policy.
We’re younger than we ever
A century ago, life in Nova Scotia was brutal and short. Fifty years ago, old age was defined at 65 because most people didn’t live much past that. Add to that cigarette smoking, labour conditions, food shortages, and other vices and bad ideas - living was not that great. Today, thanks to advances in health and living standards, Nova Scotians are living longer, healthier lives. We’re not old; we’re healthier, more educated, and more productive in later years than ever before. Older people are more stable, wealthier, and more peaceful.
We got a lot of gas in the tank and a long way to go.
The fear of an aging population is rooted in ageism—a false equivalence between aging and being a costly burden. The reality is that longer life spans mean more productive years, more taxes paid, and more economic contribution.
Young people aren't leaving in droves, and we're not experiencing a baby bust. Statistics show a growing return of young people to Nova Scotia, and advancements in childhood health mean fewer children are needed to sustain a stable population.
The obsession with growth as the solution to our problems is like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in it. Instead of focusing on growth, we need to address where our wealth is going and ensure fair distribution.
It’s now clear that ten years of obsessive growth in the absence of broader thinking has reduced our GDP per person making each of us less well off than we were ten years ago; lured low-skill international workers into a new kind of indentured servitude; reduced productivity and investment; caused a housing crisis and overburdened our health and other infrastructure; and immorally taken healthcare and other professional workers from their home countries where they are desperately needed.
Aging isn't the problem, and growth isn't the answer. It's time to rethink our assumptions and embrace the reality of our youthful, productive future.
How Does This Change The Thinking In Nova Scotia?
Not a burden - Our greatest untapped resource.
Economists do study the concept of remaining productive years instead of just focusing on chronological age. This approach can have significant implications for economic policy, especially in addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by an aging population.
Remaining Productive Years and Economic Policy
1. Extending Productive Life Span:
- Health and Education Investments: By investing in healthy living, community connections, and lifelong learning, policies can extend the productive years of individuals. Older people can have important new and changing roles in society. Improved health, deeper community engagement, and ongoing skill development mean that older workers can continue to contribute effectively to the economy for a longer period.
- Flexible Retirement Policies: Adjusting retirement age policies to reflect increased life expectancy and healthier aging can help maintain a larger and more experienced workforce. This approach helps in balancing the dependency ratio and ensures that older adults remain economically active and engaged.
2. Impact on Economic Growth:
- Enhanced Labor Participation: Encouraging older adults to remain in the workforce or take on new roles that improve life for all of us can boost labor participation rates, leading to sustained economic growth in quality-of-life areas we really care about. As the workforce ages, leveraging their experience and skills can result in higher productivity and innovation.
- Demographic Dividend: Places with policies that support longer productive lives can benefit from a demographic dividend, where the economic contributions of a healthier, older workforce offset the costs associated with aging populations.
Examples and Analysis
1. OECD and Harvard Studies:
- Research by the OECD highlights the importance of viewing aging populations not just as a burden but as a resource. Policies that support active aging can transform demographic challenges into economic opportunities by enhancing productivity and reducing healthcare costs through preventative measures.
- Studies from Harvard emphasize that productivity should be measured not just in terms of age but in terms of remaining productive years. This shift in perspective can lead to more inclusive and effective economic policies that maximize the potential of all age groups.
2. St. Louis Fed Insights:
- The St. Louis Fed underscores the role of demographic changes in shaping economic policy. By focusing on the remaining productive years, policymakers can better plan for future labor force needs and ensure sustainable economic growth with the resources we have at hand. This approach also helps in designing social security systems that are more adaptive to the actual productive potential of the population and the further changes to come once we pass the baby boom bubble.
Connection to Lower Taxes and Economic Stability
- Reduced Social Welfare Costs: By extending the productive years of individuals, the need for social welfare programs can decrease, leading to lower public expenditure on pensions and healthcare.
- Increased Tax Revenue: A larger, more productive workforce can generate higher tax revenues, reducing the overall tax burden on the working-age population and supporting public finances.
Bright Future Over Ageist Perspectives
YouTuber Michael “Vsauce” Stevens made a 23-minute video about this topic a few years ago. it racked up 17 million views and inspired a lot of articles about aging (including this one).
It’s now clear this is a real thing. The unanswered question, though, is will this phenomenon continue. Will people forty years from now look at our pictures and wonder, in shock and amazement, just how much older we used to look back then?
By focusing on remaining productive years rather than chronological age, economic policies can harness the potential of older adults, leading to a more dynamic and inclusive economy. This perspective shifts the narrative from viewing older individuals as a burden to recognizing them as valuable contributors to our economic and social well-being.
