Silver Democracy: Extinct Volcanoes in Japan Sap Economy

This is good illustration of how to stagnate your economy–redistribute wealth from the young and creative to the stale and old:

An aging population is clogging the nation’s economy with the vested interests of older generations, young people and social experts warn, making an already hierarchical society even more rigid and conservative. The result is that Japan is holding back and marginalizing its youth at a time when it actually needs them to help create the new products, companies and industries that a mature economy requires to grow…
“Japan has the worst generational inequality in the world,” said Manabu Shimasawa, a professor of social policy at Akita University who has written extensively on such inequalities. “Japan has lost its vitality because the older generations don’t step aside, allowing the young generations a chance to take new challenges and grow.”

This is why limiting the scope of sovereignty is morally important. As each generation passes, more people accumulate into politically invincible budget-dominating demographics. With the option of voice all but silenced before the apparent moral authority of pensions for the old, the only hope for the young is to exit:

Mr. Horie finally quit — not just the temporary jobs, but Japan altogether. He moved to Taiwan two years ago to study Chinese. “Japanese companies are wasting the young generations to protect older workers,” said Mr. Horie, now 36. “In Japan, they closed the doors on me. In Taiwan, they tell me I have a perfect résumé.”

Read more at Let A Thousand Nations Bloom