If the US economy functioned fine 10, 20, 50, and 100 years ago, when the population was ~half the size, why can’t it withstand a population decline now?

Question

If the US economy functioned fine 10, 20, 50, and 100 years ago, when the population was ~half the size, why can’t it withstand a population decline now?

In: Economics

Answer 1

First: the U.S. is not facing a population decline.

But assuming it was, it’s not just there are less people, but how they are distributed. You have lots of old people who don’t work, don’t really buy most things, don’t invest much, but still drain the resources of the system (which is their right: they paid into it their entire lives)

You have fewer highly competent people to keep everything running, and even fewer new people entering the workforce to keep it working.

You have a smaller young population that is usually the source of most purchases, meaning that there is simply less demand and fewer jobs.

You have a smaller middle-age segment where most of the liquidity and investment comes from, meaning the entire system threatens to lock up.

A shrinking population is not a good thing, and it’s rather upsetting that these problems were not discussed at the same time that certain people were shouting that we should have fewer children.