Today's signal looks at how rising global youth unemployment (due to choice or lack thereof) is linked to global geopolitical risk.
To put it bluntly, war begins to look like a good idea to governments saddled with supporting and placating restless "human resources" that begin to cost them more than they make them in terms of taxes and productivity. War is a way to launder domestic cost into the global "opportunity" and to dilute and distribute your domestic risk of unrest into the rest of the world... (I mean, that's how the US got out of a self-made depression and got rich in the process...)
Yes, I know, not the most cheerful topic for a Friday, but worth a thought - especially since businesses, working together to train, mentor and generally take on interns and treat them like human beings instead of mere items in a balance sheet can make a real difference here before it's too late.
Invest in the future your want - or don't, and someone else will take advantage of that fact. Bad things can, unfortunately, be profitable to certain actors in the short term. And make no mistake, the global youth unemployment rate is one of those bad things we shouldn't take (pardon my pun) lying down flat.
What can you do in your community or business (however small) to help give young people something worth working towards to work towards?
Have you undertaken the work to develop scenarios and strategies for increased geopolitical risk, wars and rumours of wars? (If not, call us at Flux Trends we can help.)
How uncomfortable does me talking about how states see citizens in economic terms - as asset or liability sides of the ledger - make you feel? (We tend to talk about corporate evil in this regard - and we should! - treating your team and customers as human BEINGS rather than human resources is a massive competitive advantage - but forget that the same cold accounting applies at a national and global scale when balancing taxes and social security safety nets).
If this made you think, please share it with someone who would be likewise challenged…
Read more:
What to do with all those idle hands? https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-has-simple-solution-its-soaring-youth-unemployment
It’s not just South Africa : https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/youth-unemployment-is-the-next-big-crisis/
Bad incentives - how some nations make money off other nation’s collateral damage (life’s unfair like that) : https://isdc.org/economic-burden-of-conflict/
Assets to liabilities : https://whatthefuturenow.com/2023/01/16/assets-to-liabilities/
Wars and rumours of wars...