Daniel Callahan Quotes
One likelihood, even just a few years, is that older people who stay longer in the work force, as many are now forced to do, will close out opportunities for younger workers coming in.
The Japanese have had this situation and have found a good solution. The older workers are treated the respect of the highest level workers but they relinquish authority and control to the mid-level coming up. They in turn, do more teaching and mentoring, and work fractional time as and when they prefer to. Callahan assumes that most jobs are in large companies with hierarchies based in large part by seniority. However, most of the new jobs in America are created by small companies and start-ups and there always opportunity for new companies started by people of any age. His economic view is that of a static economy and not a growing one, when growth has on the average characterized the American economy since the founding of the country.
Daniel Callahan, President, The Hastings Center, Co-Director, Yale-Hastings Program in Ethics & Health Policy, “On Dying After Your Time”, New York Times, December 1, 2013
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The nation was divided over the issue of immigration. Many observed that the vast majority of the immigrants—especially the illegal immigrants performed jobs for which American workers could not be hired. Opponents like the congressman, claimed that if better wages were paid Americans would be doing the jobs, and as long as there were immigrants who would work for low wages, there was little reason for employers to pay more.
This is a statement that in the early 21st century would be made only by ultra liberals. But in the in the late 1940’s this was not only standard democratic party thinking, but a large number of Republicans thought of the Government as the employer of last resort including their Presidential standard bearer.
Niles, a Southern editor was none the less anti-slavery. Other than the gross immorality of slavery, he saw that the economics of the institution actually inhibited the economic development of the South very early. Efficiency of machinery and organization of work and labor saving inventions were not as badly needed in a slave economy where human labor was so inexpensive. While in the North and most of Europe, there was skilled, but expensive, labor of freemen. This motivated all to improve processes and technology and increase productivity. There was much less motivation in the South and the slaves who actually understood the work had no way to experiment and were not allowed to read or write so the South was almost economically and technologically stagnant in comparison to the free labor states.
There are some conservative economists and businessmen who believe that it is desirable to have some unemployment as a bulwark against inflation. If there are people without jobs, they will hold the general wage rates down.
In retrospect, it is interesting to observe that the problem of older workers finding employment seems to have a long history in America. Note that the average life expectancy in 1937 was about 12 years less than in 2007. So in a sense, the 40 year olds Mrs. Roosevelt was concerned about was like the 52 year old worker in 2007.
the Bolshevik Communists of Russia Zenzinov was often a critic of the Bolsheviks.
Well over a century ago, this prescient economist pointed out that in a very competitive economy, people would have to develop and have multiple skills to remain employable. The competition also produces technological obsolescence.
Daniel John Callahan was an American philosopher who played a leading role in developing the field of biomedical ethics as co-founder of The Hastings Center, the world's first bioethics research institute. He served as the Director of The Hastings Center from 1969 to 1983, president from 1984 to 1996, and president emeritus from 1996 to 2019. He was the author or editor of 47 books.
