US Is Having a Baby Bust, and It’s Linked to Money

After giving a thought-provoking keynote speech at the London Blockchain Conference 2024, Professor Scott Galloway joined Kurt Wuckert Jr. on CoinGeek Backstage

Professor Scott Galloway joined Kurt Wuckert Jr. on CoinGeek Backstage to discuss the United States’ demographics and what they mean for the economy, blockchain as a productivity tool, and using decentralized ledgers to manage data.

After giving a thought-provoking keynote speech at the London Blockchain Conference 2024, Professor Galloway joined Kurt Wuckert Jr. on CoinGeek Backstage to discuss the United States’ demographics and what they mean for the economy, blockchain as a productivity tool, and using decentralized ledgers to manage data.

Wuckert began by highlighting Galloway’s statement about legions of young men who can’t connect with others in the real world and who immerse themselves in technology as a result. He also mentioned how GLP-1 drugs could lead to a baby boom. Are these at odds with each other?

Galloway said they are, and the baby boom won’t be sustainable. The average 70-year-old is now significantly richer than they were four years ago, and the average under 40 is less so. Galloway put the numbers at a 72% increase for the older generation and a 24% decrease for the younger ones.

In 1980, 63% of able-bodied people between 30 and 34 had children. Now, it’s only 27%, a significant decline. Galloway said it’s simply not affordable to have children. He warned that we need to figure this out because Japan, China, and Italy face dire economic consequences, which can send the economies into freefall.

Focusing on the tax code and the breaks it offers, Galloway pinpointed the smaller rate on buying and selling assets (capital gains) as opposed to income and lower interest rates on mortgages as two tax breaks that transfer wealth from younger people to the older generation.

Galloway has criticized blockchain for failing to do much of anything productive. If we could have a scalable blockchain that reduces friction, would it be valuable?

Galloway focused on Michael Saylor’s decision to put MicroStrategy’s cash into BTC, saying it’s a big, bold bet and isn’t about productivity as such. He has heard of a few interesting blockchain apps and the possibility of decentralized digital currencies outside the control of authorities. However, he can’t think of many ways blockchain tech touches peoples’ daily lives like Google Search (NASDAQ: GOOGL) or AI does.

Galloway said use cases haven’t matched the hype around blockchain so far. We’re at a “question mark stage,” he said. It may bounce back or fade away, and only time will tell.

Wuckert mentioned how Galloway has talked a lot about junk data. He noted that a previous proof-of-work model was designed to filter out email spam. He wondered if ensuring the quality of data fed into AI models could be a valuable use for blockchain technology.

Galloway said it’s a great vision, but he wondered who will be the judge of better data. He’s unaware of anyone doing this right now, but he agreed it’s a good potential use case for blockchains.

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