Reader Comment on Demographics

"The introduction of a government "safety net" (welfare) in one Western country after another in the 19th Century caused demographic collapse. Everyone thought he could provide for his old age by living off the labor of other people's children. It was a tragedy of the commons."

And now we are seeing the effects. As I mentioned last week, the "increased monetary base causes increased CPI" thesis has sprung a leak, and the inflationists are out of buckets. Clearly there is a different, lurking variable. In fact, an increase in monetary base and a fall in the inflation rate both look like dependent variables of population!