(Bloomberg View) — Who will take care of all the old people?
The core problem of the welfare state is that it relieves people of the need for family to take care of them, but it does not relieve society of the need for caretakers.
In fact, because there's evidence that more generous social-security systems cause people to reduce their fertility, you can argue that these systems are undercutting the very actuarial basis upon which they depend.
The effect is what social-security systems are struggling with around the world: As the ratio of workers to retirees declines, it gets harder and harder to raise the tax revenue to cover benefits.
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