The Price of Prosperity

The Real Threat of an Aging Population

• Todd G. Buchholz 

Todd G. Buchholz is a former White House director of economic policy under President George H.W. Bush, managing director of the Tiger hedge fund and the author of The Price of Prosperity.

And how to address it

In my book The Price of Prosperity I report that America now has more golf courses than McDonalds. This is not a story about Americans preferring manicured grass to grass-fed beef. It’s a story of 40 million retiring baby boomers looking for a place to take a walk and exercise.

We used to size up a person by counting his children. Now we count Rolex watches, six-pack abs and Instagram followers. The Center for Disease Control recently reported that Americans gave birth to about10,000 fewer babies in 2015 than in 2014. Go to an airport departure gate and count how many people pre-board because they are seniors hobbling with walkers rather than young parents with baby strollers. The lack of babies makes the airplanes quieter, but for the country’s economic future, it suggests turbulence ahead.