Can we talk about the aging population?

[Kendodd]

Anyone know much?
I don't see much serious discussion in politics about this and the challenges it will create. Policy just seems to be more of the same ignoring the fact society will fundamentally change and lots of the numbers just won't add up anymore (elder care, healthcare etc) Having said that I think we are quite well placed in the UK to cope being open to immigration from higher birthrate countries. Plus we will have a heads up watching how low birthrate and low immigration countries in Asia cope and what they do right or wrong.

Overall, I think, lower numbers of people are good for the planet, if predictions are even correct, people across the world might decide to just start birthing their own care workers though and upend the current trajectory. Anyway I don't think we should continue to ignore it's challenges.

It also solves the housing issue.

Robots will take us to Switzerland. Or we may import Swiss robots. Everyone will have a choice.

How does immigration help? I doubt all those young men coming over are going to want to become nurses and healthcare assistants.

Japan's PM says society there is on the brink of collapse.

Japan PM says country on the brink over falling birth rate - BBC News

And the figures for South Korea are shocking.

Aging of South Korea - Wikipedia

There was some stuff about this in the news today. Some politician or other did say that the government needed to encourage people to have more children.

Well maybe they'll be labourers or supermarket workers or bin collectors or other essential workers.

I think "assisted dying" will be legalised in about 10 years, as Gen X start claiming their state pensions.

Personally I think that's the last thing we need to do.

An older population dorsnt just need nurses and healthcare assistants.

It needs workers as its too old to work. It needs people growing food, picking food, processing gas and getting it to your home, keeping the water and sewage system running, keeping the transport network going, making, Paying the taxes that keep healthcare and pensions being paid.

I dont know is the answer. I suppose automation of lots of jobs is going to help

Encourage people to have more children? They'll need to fix the housing crisis and totally unaffordable childcare situation then. Any sensible government needs to support policies which help families, but our government is insane and operating at primary school levels of behaviour and intellect since they came in.

How does that help the ageing population though? More taxes to spend on care provision? Nobody wants to be a care worker anymore as the job, pay and working conditions are so poor.

Oh great. Someone who has a)swallowed the nonsense about asylum seekers all being male and b)thinks asylum is more than a fraction of immigration.

But Sweden has a lower birth rate than the Uk and they have super affordable childcare etc. the fact is that as soon as women are able to control their fertility, they want fewer children and many don’t want any. A majority of my friends do have children but one or two, a few have three but they don’t outweigh the ones with none.

it’s kind of hard to argue against smaller families as they are essentially a rational choice for the individuals concerned. Even if money were no object, time is, so I still think people having 3+ kids would be a minority.

What are the statistics then? The asylum seekers are mostly male from what I understand. Is that not true?

The planet needs fewer people not more. That’s what we’ve got to adapt to. Sustainability and living with less. Not more polluting consumerism to feed the whims of expanding populations.

I think we may need to adopt different approaches to ageing. Multi generational living would be two birds with one stone

I agree completely.

However, that will mean a lot less choice in how to live our lives. It will mean we need to care for/nurse our own families/elderly, a lot more people will have to be involved in growing food etc. as well as not buying untold amounts of plastic crap and not travelling very much.

Im honestly alright with this, but there’s a large proportion of mumsnet who think being told they can’t drive their Range Rover wherever/whenever they want is the end of the world.

This is why America is banning abortions. They need more workers for the low skilled jobs

Brave New World? They’ll bring in a culling age.

The problem is the ageing population, so everyone gets capped.

Because society is more than just its elderly and needs more than just care workers to survive. I can't believe I have to explain that to somebody.

Seeing as medical professionals/relatives won't let incontinent, bed-bound, completely demented people with multiple co-morbidities die of infections and instead force them to die slowly and wait for their bodies to 'shut down', I doubt this is coming anytime soon.

You can’t say no one’s been talking about it. I’ve been taking about it for 20 years. No one’s been bloody listening.

Back in the 90s there was statistical analysis done for various councils (cutting edge at the time). We calculated budget projections based on population demographics for the next 25 years. Results went to the chief execs, who went very pale and raised it centrally. Nothing happened. Everyone just sat on the information.

Mostly, yes. Not exclusively. For fairly obvious reasons.
Asylum seekers make up less than a quarter of immigration though.