Princeton Economist: Nearly Half Of Working Age Men Not In The Labor Force Take Opioids Daily

Esteemed Princeton professor and former Obama White House economist Alan Krueger is back with yet another prediction about why Americans, particularly men between the ages of 25-54, suddenly no longer have any interest in working. In his report, entitled “Where Have All The Workers Gone? An Inquiry Into The Decline Of The U. S. Labor Force Participation Rate,” Krueger ponders the data below which reveal that the labor force participation rate among men, aged 25-54, started dropping around 1965 and has been steadily declining ever since.

Of course, it couldn’t possibly have anything to do with stagnant real wages or soaring entitlements that have provided massive, and increasing, disincentives to work over the past several decades.
No, after spending months, or maybe even years, running very complicated regressions that your simple mind could never possibly understand, Krueger would like for you to know that it’s the growing opioid epidemic that is forcing men to sit on their couches all day rather than look for work. Here’s a summary of his findings from the Brookings Institute.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 8, 2017.