Global study: World not ready for aging population

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The world is aging so fast that most countries are not prepared to support their swelling numbers of elderly people, according to a global study going out Tuesday by the United Nations and an elder rights group.

The report ranks the social and economic well-being of elders in 91 countries, with Sweden coming out on top and Afghanistan at the bottom. It reflects what advocates for the old have been warning, with increasing urgency, for years: Nations are simply not working quickly enough to cope with a population graying faster than ever before. By the year 2050, for the first time in history, seniors over the age of 60 will outnumber children under the age of 15.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20130930/Global-Aging/

Old people are the problem.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Old people are the problem.

Indeed, old man. Indeed.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Indeed, old man. Indeed.

Affluent people are living well into their 80's and 90's. By the time they die, their kids are already at retirement age. It is a shame, really, seeing them hoard all that wealth, while younger people raising children struggle just to make ends meet. In the wealthier nations, society is upside down.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Affluent people are living well into their 80's and 90's. By the time they die, their kids are already at retirement age. It is a shame, really, seeing them hoard all that wealth, while younger people raising children struggle just to make ends meet. In the wealthier nations, society is upside down.

That is true. On the other hand, the young tend to take care of their old less in wealthier nations. Who is looking after their elder parents anymore? They often just end up in facilities that care for old folk.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

That is true. On the other hand, the young tend to take care of their old less in wealthier nations. Who is looking after their elder parents anymore? They often just end up in facilities that care for old folk.

Eventually it will go the way of countries like the UK, where after a certain age, all the state provided healthcare will do, is give you some pain medication and a fluffy pillow. In the US, they do all sorts of futile and expensive procedures, before coming to the point of all we can do is make the person comfortable until they die. That is what is driving up the costs of healthcare in the US - old people don't want to give up on either the quality, or the quantity, of life they think the youth in this country should all pay for.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Eventually it will go the way of countries like the UK, where after a certain age, all the state provided healthcare will do, is give you some pain medication and a fluffy pillow. In the US, they do all sorts of futile and expensive procedures, before coming to the point of all we can do is make the person comfortable until they die. That is what is driving up the costs of healthcare in the US - old people don't want to give up on either the quality, or the quantity, of life they think the youth in this country should all pay for.

I don't disagree. There are way too many cases where medical personnel is forced to perform a resuscitation putting an individual back into the very pain and suffering they had just escaped. It's inhumane in many cases. And then there are those that value quantity over quality of life. I'm not there yet so I can't say how that all plays out. I do know that my grandparents all passed when their time came and they all were comfortable with that. All of them insisted that they did not want to live a life where they aren't able to take care of their own basic necessities. They lived into their 70's and 80's which is a good age to reach.

[RGinWA 816]

The answer is Solent Green.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

On the other hand, my client this afternoon was a gentleman of 79, still fairly fit, and running his own business out of his garage, one of only two people in the country that does what he does. A small cottage business is what semi-retired people do if they want to keep healthy after a certain age, and I fully expect to do similar - actually have to, since the market has been fairly stagnant for the last five years.

[GandD 5,966]

Old people are the problem.

I really wonder how China is going to deal with their elderly population. Oh wait, they won't.

[RGinWA 816]

I really wonder how China is going to deal with their elderly population.

The iPhone 8 of course.

[GandD 5,966]

The iPhone 8 of course.

Are you suggesting the iPhone 8 will be built out of China's elderly?

[RGinWA 816]

Are you suggesting the iPhone 8 will be built out of China's elderly?

It will be the worlds first biodegradable phone made for, by and out of the elderly.

[GandD 5,966]

It will be the worlds first biodegradable phone made for, by and out of the elderly.

Is it gonna have ####### all around the speaker and hair coming out the mic?

[RGinWA 816]

Is it gonna have ####### all around the speaker and hair coming out the mic?

The volume will be louder. The buttons and screen will be huge. It will be like a 12" tablet and a boom box had a baby.

Go big or go home grandpa!

[Darnell 8,478]

I really wonder how China is going to deal with their elderly population. Oh wait, they won't.

There's been reports of this. Whatcha reading? How may I help ?