Can we talk about ageing populations?

[Kendodd]

Birth rates around the world are collapsing. South Korea has the lowest birth rate at about 0.7. That means for every 100 people, 35 children will be born. There are predicted to be more people over 65 than under very soon. Many countries are predicted to see their populations half be 2100. While I think this is great for the planet and wouldn't want to change things, it will present problems.

What to do?

There's already a crisis of recruitment in care. Throwing more money at it won't work, we need people to do other jobs as well. Limiting care/health care to the elderly, I can't see how that would work either. Also, most of these countries are democracies, the elderly would be the most powerful voting block.

Anyone any ideas?

Oh dear. This isn’t going to go well.

The popualtion isn't ageing everywhere - a lot of Sub Saharan and Middle Eastern countries have very young populations.

I think European nations will have to accept more immigration as the price to pay for an ageing population. Either that or more automation.

People need to become more realistic about old age and Drs need to stop prescribing medication and treating conditions that are part and parcel of old age and allow people to actually die instead of fighting to keep them alive in disgusting cruel circumstances for an extra few years of life. Or in pain and confusion. Just because we CAN medicate and treat doesn’t mean we SHOULD.
I would support assisted dying for sure as well.

Very very well said. I agree completely. And I’m old!!

Agreed. We need to accept death, however sad it is. Death happens. My df should have been allowed to die after his massive stroke. He had 5years of not being able to communicate, not being able to eat/ drink, not being able to walk. It was 5 very long miserable years for him and for us. Quality over quantity every time.

As others have said we will just rely on immigration more than we already do. many parts of Africa have high birth rates and a young population. Most of the carers I see around our area are Zimbabwean.

This.

I worked as a carer for 20-odd years. Many of the people I went to wanted to die, due to being very old, or having awful things like Parkinson's, MS, Alzheimer's, strokes, etc.

I'm 65 myself now and hope I don't get to be VERY old

Accept death.
Pay women who have children appropriately.
Accept immigration- but not stripping those countries of their trained workers. Our NHS shouldn’t be bolstered by removing skill from developing countries.

Until childbirth and rearing is less prohibitively expensive, particularly to women, then we aren’t going to turn this around.

Completely agree with @pickledandpuzzled

Do we also need to become more realistic about disability and Drs stop prescribing medication and treating conditions that are part and parcel of disability, and allow people to actually die instead of fighting to keep them alive?

Immigrants get old too. Immigration can’t be solution to the problem.

I agree with this, I have recently had an elderly relative move into a care home for people with dementia and some of the residents have no quality of life, they don't know their name, are doubly incontinent and being spoon fed.

Not sure how letting people die would be put into practice though. Do we get people to sign a form when they get to a certain age? Who would make the decision?

This.

Like it or not, immigration is the short term answer.

Long term, things will even themselves out.

I think we'll be relying a lot on robots, personally. I don't particularly like the idea, but I think it's the shape of things to come.

And we will have to accept that there will be more immigration from the parts of the world with younger populations into parts of the world with ageing populations.

You can either have an existential crisis and panic about what other people or doing, or take a good look at your family and community and make realistic plans for your own future well being and that of those around you.

What do you mean by pay women appropriately to have children?

I completely agree.
I advocate for dignity in dying. Me need a system where we date, infront of a Dr and a Lawyer, at what stage we no longer wish to be here (different for everyone) then once the time comes it is a Dr and Lawyer who sign it off.
We need this.

@WhyLetThatBotherYou Yes. My grandpa had a great, full, healthy life up to the age of 91. He was a farmer until his early 70s, he was a local councillor, he walked his little dog everyday and worked in his garden. At 91 he had a massive stroke and spent the last five years of his life in a nursing home having everything done for him. He cried every day because he did not understand why he could not go home. In the last year he did not recogise his own wife or children. It was horrible for everyone concerned and ate up all the money he had saved for his grandchildren (he didn't own his house but had invested in some land decades ago).

I don't begrudge a penny of that money being used to pay for his care but there is something very upsetting about his entire lifes savings being used to keep him alive in such a miserable state.

Nothing. She didn’t say that, she said “Pay women who have children appropriately.”.

Agree one hundred percent with sorting out assisted dying. I'm a member of dignitas already and if I can't make it there I will figure something else out but I will fight tooth and nail not to end up in a care home without my mental capacity or ability to wipe my bum.

Pp mentioned disabled people but I think that's a separate conversation as disabilities are so broad. A once fit healthy person who has an accident and can't move from the neck down might decide that's no life for them and they should be free to choose. A mentally disabled person who can't decide for themselves or understand the decison, I would not want that. My son is severely autistic and wouldn't understand the question.

Having endless children is not the answer the planet can't take much more

Excellent post

Maybe in the future we will be expected to sit down with a medical professional and discuss what we would like to happen if we had a stroke etc so we can have a quality of life.
Yy yo assisted dying

Your comment is absolutely DISGUSTING and confirms everything I suspected about those who are pushing assisted dying. Not only is it callous, it’s ageist as well.

Completely agree as well and I'm glad to see it's got such a positive response. I wasn't brave enough to be the first to say it.