Population Collapse: The Lasting Effects, Ep. 242

Title: Exploring 5 Hot Topics from the Capitalist Investor Podcast Episode on Population Collapse

The Capitalist Investor podcast recently delved into a thought-provoking discussion on population collapse and its potential impact on various aspects of society and the economy. Hosts Derek, Luke, and Tony engaged in a lively conversation, touching on several significant topics that shed light on the complexities surrounding this issue. 

 Let's explore the five hot topics discussed in this insightful episode:

1. Population Trends and Economic Growth:The hosts highlighted the crucial relationship between population growth and economic prosperity. They noted that a declining birth rate and the aging population could potentially disrupt the traditional economic model, including the functioning of systems like Social Security. With fewer people entering the workforce, there may be implications for sustaining economic growth in the long run.

2. Immigration Dynamics: The conversation turned to immigration as a factor filling the population void in certain countries. While immigration can help address declining birth rates, the hosts also discussed the challenges and controversies associated with this phenomenon. The impact of immigration on the economy and society sparked a debate on the balance between population growth and cultural integration.

3. Technological Advancements and Automation: The hosts explored the role of technology, particularly AI and automation, in shaping the future workforce. They raised thought-provoking questions about the potential for robots to replace human labor and the consequent challenges that could arise in terms of unemployment and income disparities. The concept of a robot tax and universal basic income was also touched upon as potential solutions to address these issues.

4. Social Impact of Population Collapse: The episode delved into the social implications of a shrinking population, such as the changing dynamics of familial support for the elderly. With fewer children being born, concerns were raised about who would provide care and support for the aging population in the future. The discussion highlighted the need for individuals to consider the broader societal impact of their decisions regarding family planning.

5. Philosophical and Economic Perspectives: The hosts engaged in a philosophical discourse on the implications of a potential shift towards a different economic system due to changing population dynamics. They considered the balance between capitalism, consumerism, and potential shifts towards alternative systems like communism or Marxist ideologies. The debate underscored the importance of understanding the philosophical underpinnings of economic systems and their alignment with societal values.

Overall, the episode on population collapse from the Capitalist Investor podcast provided a compelling analysis of the intricate interplay between demographic trends, economic structures, technological advancements, and social dynamics. By exploring these hot topics in depth, the hosts encouraged listeners to reflect on the potential future scenarios resulting from population changes and the necessity for proactive discussions and solutions to navigate these complex challenges in the modern world.

Transcript

0:02

Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Capitalist Investor. As always, you have me, diamondhands D. And we got Tony with us as well. What's going on, guys? Living the dream. Yeah. Yeah. So, hey, we, last topic we talked about was renting versus buying. So that kind of spurred a little conversation here amongst us. So we wanted to talk about, you know, the population in general and kind of what you hear about population collapse in the news a lot with, you know, Elon Musk talks about it quite a bit. But you know what, what that kind of means long term, I think, is not really talked about that often. So we thought it was a good little, maybe quick little, quick little episode here to talk about that and kind of the realities of what might be down the road. This is one of the most important things, I think, that isn't really talked about. Elon Musk talks about it because really, it's the whole world's a Ponzi scheme. You need more minds, more people to grow an economy, to produce something, to invest, to build real estate, to fill those houses, like we talked about last week or a couple of days ago on the podcast. So, like, it's, it takes all of that to operate a system, and you need more mines to do all that and more people. And the problem is people just aren't having kids as much. And even if you are having kids, you're usually having one or one or two you're not having. 3456. Right. Like, even more. Back in 200 years ago, you had ten kids. Right. So, like, it's the slowdown in that kind of growth, especially from here in the United States. Immigration's filling that void a little bit. You see 10,000 people crossing the border every single day, whether that's good or bad, which not. Probably not good in a lot of ways. Where did 10 million people go? Ten people entered the United States, and I'd love to know where they're at. Yeah, but immigration's filling out. Immigration is filling that void here in the US for now. But eventually, once the immigration spit gets turned off or when everyone around the world is just not reproducing kids, then you have kind of the Ponzi scheme collapse on itself. And the thought is technology and AI, whatever be or plays, the system will create productivity, and then people can kind of sail off in the sunset. We'll have more time to do whatever they want, and technology and AI will continue to grow the economy as long as, even if there's no people. But I want to talk about whether that's a good or bad thing? There's different theories out there. The whole thought is the economy kind of collapses if there's not mines to fill. But some people say that it just gives people more time and more resources to accumulate for themselves, essentially to share the resources. I mean, you have people like Bill Gates saying, brilliant mind. They're telling us we're overpopulated and we're using up resources and things like that. But, I mean, it's just expensive to have children these days, right? Yeah. And the biggest thing is, is like, a lot of the, I mean, just look at our entitlements. Social Security was built on more people working than the recipients. And in ten years from now, roughly, there's going to be two people working for every recipient of Social Security. When Social Security was first designed, it was like 40 to one. What happens? Right? And. And if. If this generation's not having children, who's gonna take care of them when they're old? Yeah. Nobody. AI robot, come wipe your butt. Well, that's. That's a huge issue. It's like, I just love what I'm concerned. Listen, if you don't have kids, like, I get it. Like, no, everyone wants to have kids. I get that. It's just one of those things. Like, there are these things I don't think a lot of people think about when they're 2030, some years old, and they're like, I decided I don't wanna have kids that young. Like, if you put your thought process in, like, hey, like, I know when I'm 67 years old, I won't have anyone to wipe my butt. Like, to take care of me. Like, I know that, then that's fine. But a lot of people don't have those own conversations themselves. They're like, hey, just too expensive, not gonna have kids. And then next thing you know, it's like, wow, 60, 70 years old comes around. It's like, wow, I made the wrong maybe mistake. Like, maybe I just should have invested the money and dealt with the pain a little bit of spending a little extra cash to have a kid. I don't know. I don't have kids yet. But one of the reasons I got engaged is it's part of my conversation. Like, now, that's what I decided for myself. I want to try to be a young father, younger father. Like, I want to be 39, 40, having my first kid. I want to. Yeah, like I mentioned, I started later. I had my first child and my only child at 40. But, like, it just, everyone just got their different philosophies on life. And it's interesting. Yeah. I don't know, man. I just feel that the world is the world. A lot of things would have to change because the world right now is built on, you know, the young helping the old. And when there's no young to help the future old, that sounds like a big problem. And I don't know if there's technology is really going to help that. Yeah, I mean, I mean, but again, technology moves so quickly. I don't know. I mean, there could be robots helping us take care of ourselves. Well, what a robot be considered a person almost when you're saying, like, okay, so coming down the road, if people aren't working jobs, if people have more time, if, you know, we allocate the resources, growth of the economy to those robots and tech, like, then you have robot tax. I mean, that's scary though, because if a robot takes my job, what am I gonna do, right? That's. I'm talking. I'm talking about money. Like. That'S you when this robot took my job, that's the whole thought of Ubi universal basic income comes in there because the robot tax is gonna fund Ubi robot tax. And then you have more. Okay. So you have more time. Let's go through that hypothetical, alright? It also goes along with everything we're talking about. Is that good or bad? Is it good or bad if people have more time? Because our human beings meant to be out working, doing things. What do you guys do in your free time? I'm sure you guys are good. You don't. You'll self implode and do bad things. But not everyone's like that. There's a lot of people out there that, you know, would self implode. In a lot of ways, I feel. I like to work. It keeps me busy. Exactly. So that when I do something fun, it's enjoyable. If I golfed every day, I'd take. It would come up more of a chore. I did that in high school. I literally had, well, I quote unquote, had to golf four days a week. I didn't want to touch a club on the weekend. What's just too much? What's that guy from that we just were talking about from the Nuggets? Basketball player. Jokic? Yeah. He literally did an interview and he said, like, hey, I hate basketball. The only reason I do this is for a job. Mm hmm. So if you do anything that's supposed to be fun. Oh, AI. Oh. You can't trust anything in today's. World. It's all AI fact. That's a, that's a serious thing. It was AI, but he has basically said that though. Yeah, yeah. But I generally think it's will be a mix, good and bad. If people have more free time, some people would spend more time with the family, maybe go travel, go see the world, do things they want to do, you know, but how do they afford that? If you have more time, that means you need funding to do this is. The whole communist Marxism conversation is really what it is. The whole concept of Marxism and kind of communism is like, hey, if we all like, just, you know, poor resources together and equally distribute, oh, we'll be as fun and happy place. We'll be able to do whatever we want in theory, but it just doesn't work. Practicality doesn't work. So that's what, again, I'm concerned about. We're heading towards this like, marxist communist path with AI technology less people. Like, it's like it's, the system's gonna self implode possibly, if that's the case. So how do we not get that and be comfortable and okay with that? Day by day. That's right. Kind of go day by day and make sure that doesn't happen to us and that's why we're spreading our good word. Yep, for sure. Interesting debate, though. For sure. Interesting to see how, how things keep progressing, moving forward. But, but, yeah, it would be such a drastic change because today's economy is just, you know, built on your capitalism spending. You know, I think 75% of our economy is consumer spending. So capitalism is great to go from that to a, you know, different system altogether. I don't know how that, that would happen. Yeah, it would be quite, quite a transition, but you never know, you know, when it would happen. When capitalism breaks, it's already breaking. Mm hmm. Yep. By external factors. Yeah. It's not the capitalism part that's breaking. Yeah, that's fair. 100%. So. Well, I love to hear your thoughts. I mean, with this, I mean, the viewers thoughts, like, you know, send us in your thoughts, like any kind of questions, like philosophical, kind of deep questions like this. I enjoy talking about this stuff. Like it. Because this all applies. All finance markets are our study of people and behaviors. Yep, for sure. So it's all philosophical, behavior driven. Right. So I enjoy having these kind of conversations. Yep. All right, well, thanks, everyone, for listening this week. If you have any questions, comments, show ideas, hit us up at info connect.com, and we'll talk to you next week. The opinions expressed in the podcast are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any investment, legal, financial, or tax strategy. It is only intended to provide education about the financial industry. Please consult a qualified professional about your individual needs.