Hi Jim. Thanks for reading!
“High enough rate” means replacement rate. That’s all. I’m just explaining what a fertility rate is and what it means to be below replacement rate.
Yes, women entering the workforce itself affects wages. But research shows* wages actually increase, marginally. As you know, why women have entered the workforce is due to social, educative, and economic factors. I didn’t go into it in detail, but I was thinking mainly of economic necessity, and specifically around the 1970s, when the CPI really hit its stride and started to rise**, (and at the same time we saw a decline in manufacturing, a rise in service-retail).
Regarding the higher costs of labor along with a higher dependency ratio, it may be the author (I'm quoting an article) was making the point that it stalls economic growth. Rising labor costs due to a shrinking workforce is not the same as wages rising commensurate to the cost of living in a sustained workforce.
I like your idea about redesigning Social Security by decoupling it from population growth. That would be quite the reinvention. Let’s try it!
*
https://hbr.org/2018/01/when-more-women-join-the-workforce-wages-rise-including-for-men
**
