In general, I believe that people instinctively want to work, and I am also convinced that people who work are happier than people who have no jobs. However, I also see every day people who would be perfectly fit to work – in some cases with special skills – that actually prefer not working and instead opt out to receive some benefits from the government.
High unemployment and a declining labor force participation rate in the Western world has numerous causes including affluence, changing attitudes from “personal responsibility” to “entitlements,” and especially because of the government’s generosity.
It is evident that with increasing Government transfer payments, a decline in salaries and wages as a percentage of the economy and a contraction in the civilian labor force participation rate occurred.
Contrarian Investor Dr.Marc Faber is an international investor known for his uncanny predictions of the stock market and futures markets around the world.
