Technology & Innovation — January 2, 2011

The Baby-Boomers’ Economy

From the moment they entered the workforce in the 1960s, baby-boomers began to shape America’s economy and politics. They will do the same as they leave.

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Retiring boomers will squeeze the economy from two directions. The number of people enrolled in Medicare will grow from 47m in 2010 to 80m in two decades’ time. Enrolment in Social Security will grow from 44m to 73m. The cost of the two programmes will grow from 8.4% of GDP in 2010 to 11.2% by 2030. Meanwhile, as boomers retire, the workforce will grow more slowly, as will the taxes to finance their benefits. The pensioner-worker imbalance and health-care inflation, which is driving up the bill for Medicare and Medicaid, the federal health benefit for the poor, will send the budget deficit into the stratosphere.

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Progress

The Great Progression, 2025-2050

The world isn’t ending! But we are likely at the beginning of a profound transformation.

Multiple country flags on poles against a clear blue sky, representing international diversity and unity.

The Present

From global to planetary: Is new governance needed in a post-Holocene world?

The nation-state had a good run, but its usefulness may have come to an end.

Portrait of a smiling man in front of a background featuring chemical structures and molecular models in green and blue hues.

The Present

Inside the battle for FDA approval of MDMA therapy

MAPS founder Rick Doblin speaks to Big Think about the FDA’s rejection of MDMA therapy and the future of psychedelic treatments.

Fifteen colorful emoji faces on a textured background, each capturing different moods like joy, anger, sadness, and surprise.

Business

Heidegger’s “mood theory” explains why you do anything at all

You’re a moody person. You have to be — because understanding moods philosophically can be crucial to your work-life.

A bear attempting to catch a jumping fish near a waterfall.

Nature’s “perfect balance” is a mystery scientists are trying to decode

“While society’s been humming along and enjoying all these advances in agriculture and medicine, in the last 50 or 60 years, ecologists have learned a lot about how nature works. I’ve codified these into a set of rules called the ‘Serengeti Rules.’”

Up Next

Culture & Religion

All Things Shining

“The world doesn’t matter to us the way it used to,” say two philosophers who have written a book about the loss of traditional meaning in contemporary secular culture.