Updated: 27NOV11
One of the great inventions of the 21th century is going to be the re-invention of old age.
The problem of an aging population is much greater than the financial drain it has on taxpayers.
This occured to me when I was watching the local english feed from the Japanese NHK network. The segment I was watching (originally aired on Germany TV) was about a group of German researchers studying a co-op that was created to combat the isolation of Japan's aging population.
The segment was interesting enough, but what was really interesting was that it was asegment about German researchers exploring the age problem in Japan being broadcast to the west coast. This is when you know something is an issue. Also, when Foreign Policy does an article it only confirms it.
The problem is that the two models we have for old age just don't fit anymore:
MODEL 1: The state (or private industry) provides a pension once a person is past the viable working age.
The problem here is one of cash flow.
MODEL 2: The elderly become part of the extended family where they are financially taken care of by their children.
The problem here is that the extended family model becomes rarer the more developed a country becomes.
So the notion of old age will need to be reinvented. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it's just a thing.
To me the biggest mistake in the social security argument is that it is binary - we keep funding at current levels or we reduce the benefits. Maybe the answer is to reconsider our notion of retirement. Maybe it should become one of easement. There could some sort of vounteer corps for the elderly. So that if you want full benefits at 65 you need to volunteer 20 hours a week to some government agency. This will offset government costs and ease an idvidual into full retirement.
Or maybe some health enticements could be offered. The benefits are lowered, but financial incentives are provided for maintaining healthy habits. The offset here is in medical costs.
Who knows. This is a complicated issue. The one thing for sure being that the concept of old age will dramatically change in the next couple of decades.
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