In his article, "The IMF Strikes Back", Kenneth Rogoff closes with a call for a "Global Bargain", in which aging developed nations invest in younger developing nations. He writes that a Global Bargain is mutually beneficial for both the developed and developing nations, because developing nations need investment and funding right now, and developing nations need revenue in the future to pay for the population bulges that will be retiring.
This point is echoed by Nandan Nilekani in "Imagining India", when he contends that one of India's major economic advantages in the coming century is that India has not yet reached the peak of its "demographic dividend" and should continue to see massive growth. This gives India an advantage over countries that have had to artificially control their population, such as China (a fact that Nilekani then uses to punch home a point on the advantages of democracy over autocracy). This means that India is poised to become a major economic power in the next century, should things continue smoothly.
After reading and synthesizing these points, it seems especially imperative to me that the U.S. pursue solutions for the baby boomers looming retirement with more urgency. My generation has always grown up hearing "you'll be paying for the baby boomers", but this point is finally be driven home to me--in order for the United States to remain as competitive as it is today, we will need a larger, younger tax base, as well as younger creative individuals powering the economy as the U.S.'s population bulge retires. One possible solution to this problem that occurs to me is immigration. The U.S. is fortunate to be seen around the globe as a country of opportunity and wealth--and because of this the U.S. ranks number 1 in the world in the number of immigrants moving into the country. The US should use this allure to its advantage, by allowing more immigrants into the US, it could create a wider tax base. In addition, legislation such as the Dream Act, should be passed. The Dream Act seems like a fair trade to me--although these immigrants were originally illegal (through no fault of their own) they have proven themselves to productive members of society, who can only help the United States on a global level, by sheer numbers and the possibilities for ingenuity that the could bring to the American economy.
