BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

Lack of government interest in social engineering will ensure that people will live longer. What no one seems to know is what to do with this added life span.

Japan has been experiencing a new trend in their workforce with fewer people who belong to the working age bracket, and even fewer expected in the years to come with the younger generations are no longer having children at the rate of previous generations. The ratio of people aged 65 or older is the highest ever recorded, according to their ministry officials. According to their 2015 census, 26.7 percent of Japanese people are 65 years or older with this figure expected to rise to 33 percent by 2035 and 40 percent by 2060.

Back to what will these older people be doing other than going to Japanese owned retirement villages such as Yepoon in Australia. Some want to keep on working. In Japan they talk about increasing the retirement age to 75. Great idea. Part of this helps cover cost to government on pensions for the people already in employment considering whether they want to keep working, but for those looking for a job, best of luck finding employment after 65. Yes, there are anti-discrimination laws supposedly protecting those over 65 but this is paid lip service and for example there is proof that the EU for don’t follow their own regulations. So, one way or the other the elderly are screwed.

They are also screwed at the other end as well. Here figures suggest up to 80% of the world’s working population will be replaced by machines and governments will need to introduce Universal Basic Incomes [UBI] as is already trialed in Scandinavia and Uganda. Meaning that the fight for available jobs will be intense. And for the type of jobs which perhaps computers cannot handle such as cooking or serving acceptable food, this is likely to preclude the elderly.

So from which ever end one looks at the problem, UBI stares us in the face while governments fail to realise just how quickly the problem will be on us. Something about Nero fiddling…