Dear GAA Friend,
Do you sometimes feel that older people are taking the blame for staying on the job and shutting out younger people who want jobs? If so, read Alicia H. Munnel and April Yanyan Wu's analysis of "the lump of labor" in the October 2012 issue from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. It's titled "Are Aging Baby Boomers Squeezing Young Workers out of Jobs?" Munnel and Wu dissect the "lump of labor" argument and conclude that "the evidence suggests that greater employment of older persons leads to better outcomes for the young -- reduced unemployment, increased employment, and a higher wage." Hats off to these scholars!
Best, Susanne Paul for Global Action on Aging.
Except Munnel and Wu don't really "dissect the 'lump of labor' argument" -- they simply rehash a load of unsubstantiated claims about a non-argument. By the way, boomers aren't pushing young workers out of jobs and it has nothing to do with lumps of labor. Capitalists are pushing young workers out of jobs to accumulate more profits.
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