dtcwee: The Value of Nothing

The future of Japan's national pension (国民年金/Kokumin Nenkin), and that of Japan. Japan is at the vanguard of indebted aging societies, so there's a lot of debate about whether it's going to be OK, seeing as more than a few developed nations will also Japan-ify. Team "Prep for Armageddon" points to the huge national debt. Team "Shrug" points to that debt being overwhelmingly yen-denominated and domestically held. If indeed  each Japanese citizen is owed 9 million yen  (about USD90,000) what realistic claim do they have to it? Because how they might access it has ramifications not just for citizens, but the future of the country. That's what we're here to tease out.

You are probably selling your time for less than it is worth. The personal value of your time gets scarcer as you age and therefore more valuable. However employers and everyone else values what you output with your time, so unless you (spend time to) increase your effectiveness, the value of your time to them stays the same. Let's dive into this.