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- Immigration Key to Labor Concerns
- In late February, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging about the economic impact of an aging American population. This will lead to diminishing growth in the labor force and an increase in the ratio of the elderly to the working-age population.
By 2030, the growth of the U.S. work force will slow from 1% to 0.5%, according to Greenspan. At the same time the percentage of the population over 65 years old will rise from 13 to 20%.
“In particular, it makes our Social Security and Medicare program unsustainable in the long run, short of a major increase in immigration rates, a dramatic acceleration in productivity growth well beyond historic experience, a significant increase in the age of eligibility for benefits, or the use of general revenues to fund benefits,” Greenspan said.
Immigration could prove a potent antidote for slowing growth in the working-age population. Greenspan said the U.S. economy is uniquely well suited to make those adjustments. “Our open labor markets can adapt to the different needs and abilities of our older population. Our capital markets can allow for the creation and rapid adoption of new labor-saving technologies, and our open society has been receptive to immigrants.” Greenspan’s comments were good news for agriculture groups and could help ag sectors thrive.
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