Hi, so here is the problem with this article: the birth rate has dropped substantially all over the world, including in poor nations with little social welfare net. Indeed, social security and Medicare are going bankrupt faster than we could possibly imagine. However I don’t quite know the solution to boost the birth rate when literally nothing has worked anywhere in the world to do so. I read there is also a global drop in sperm counts.
Yes. I do live in a country with universal healthcare and state pensions, but very, very few nursing homes. Being my mom’s caregiver in the family has pretty much messed up my whole life. Fertility rates are not the only factor. Living in multigenerational homes does have its benefits for the elderly, but not for the younger or the middle-aged generations. Family dynamics is a fragile thing to handle in multigenerational homes. So there’s no easy way out of this situation…
In addition, how many elderly (80+) patients in poor health are kept alive (with machines, medicines, etc) unnecessarily? How many younger people who would have joined the workforce to pay into the system now live off of the system on welfare? My 80 year old aunt was treated for breast cancer (had to stop chemo because it was killing (!) her), my BIL’s baby mama has never worked a day in her life and she’s in her 40s. My other aunt cared for my grandmother until she died, but my Gram was in very good health, did not have advanced dementia and was mobile, so caring for her was not physically difficult (in the sense that she would be incontinent, wander, sickly, etc). You are correct, this is not sustainable as it’s been designed. I’ve always thought that social security would not be available to me when I retire (I’m 54) and have planned my retirement around that. What angers me is that I was forced to pay into a system that I will likely never use, same with my children. My parents’ generation seems to think that “my children will take care of me” and I for one do not want that burden to fall to my kids. I’ve seen the toll it takes on children of elderly parents- we aren’t called the sandwich generation for nothing. My step mother has said she refuses to go into a nursing home and insists my step brother will take care of her. She’s already somewhat incontinent and developing other medical problems (including dementia). She refuses to look at the bigger picture and how it would affect his life. She feels it’s owed to her. Sadly, many older people can not live independently and will not admit it, so their care falls on their kids whether they want to or not. I don’t have an answer but what I see in the future is not pretty. Those of us who work with the elderly can see it plain as day.
Hi, so here is the problem with this article: the birth rate has dropped substantially all over the world, including in poor nations with little social welfare net. Indeed, social security and Medicare are going bankrupt faster than we could possibly imagine. However I don’t quite know the solution to boost the birth rate when literally nothing has worked anywhere in the world to do so. I read there is also a global drop in sperm counts.
Yes. I do live in a country with universal healthcare and state pensions, but very, very few nursing homes. Being my mom’s caregiver in the family has pretty much messed up my whole life. Fertility rates are not the only factor. Living in multigenerational homes does have its benefits for the elderly, but not for the younger or the middle-aged generations. Family dynamics is a fragile thing to handle in multigenerational homes. So there’s no easy way out of this situation…
Maybe it’s not that fertility is gone. Maybe it’s just waiting for better conditions.
In addition, how many elderly (80+) patients in poor health are kept alive (with machines, medicines, etc) unnecessarily? How many younger people who would have joined the workforce to pay into the system now live off of the system on welfare? My 80 year old aunt was treated for breast cancer (had to stop chemo because it was killing (!) her), my BIL’s baby mama has never worked a day in her life and she’s in her 40s. My other aunt cared for my grandmother until she died, but my Gram was in very good health, did not have advanced dementia and was mobile, so caring for her was not physically difficult (in the sense that she would be incontinent, wander, sickly, etc). You are correct, this is not sustainable as it’s been designed. I’ve always thought that social security would not be available to me when I retire (I’m 54) and have planned my retirement around that. What angers me is that I was forced to pay into a system that I will likely never use, same with my children. My parents’ generation seems to think that “my children will take care of me” and I for one do not want that burden to fall to my kids. I’ve seen the toll it takes on children of elderly parents- we aren’t called the sandwich generation for nothing. My step mother has said she refuses to go into a nursing home and insists my step brother will take care of her. She’s already somewhat incontinent and developing other medical problems (including dementia). She refuses to look at the bigger picture and how it would affect his life. She feels it’s owed to her. Sadly, many older people can not live independently and will not admit it, so their care falls on their kids whether they want to or not. I don’t have an answer but what I see in the future is not pretty. Those of us who work with the elderly can see it plain as day.