4 ms·

"Young people are all too conscious of the social and economic burdens they will have to shoulder. Over-65s already account for 28% of the population, almost do

"Young people are all too conscious of the social and economic burdens they will have to shoulder. Over-65s already account for 28% of the population, almost double the proportion of 15- to 29-year-olds. By 2065 they are projected to rise to nearly 40%. The welfare system is struggling to keep up." I don't get this. What is supposed to be this so called burden nowadays? What will elderly people require? Food and medicine? First can be considered cheap, relative to the amount of employed people. Actually, I'm not sure there will be needed much more workers than now, if things will continue to improve, we may expect to need less. Healthcare maybe will require a small increase to cope with the growing numbers of patients. (But maybe not necessarily so, considering that the system already serves the current numbers of people and the population is declining?) The Japanese government already pays for 70% of healthcare services for working people, how much of a difference will it make to cover it a little bit more for the old? So what remains there to struggle with? Some food-stamps and a small increase (relative to already existing levels) in healthcare subvention? On the other hand, after giving them food and healthcare, you're pretty much free to cut in pensions as much as you must. It isn't like there are leases or mortgages to be paid. Not from pensions, mind you.

Tyrek 9y ago
The government pays for 70% of healthcare for working people. I.e. these are productive citizens (presumably) putting more into the system than they are getting out of it, at ~72% (mathematically, that's 2.5 productive citizens per elderly). If the proportion rises to 40/60, that's a 1.5 citizen/elderly ratio. That itself is a huge concern.
aaavl2821 9y ago
Elderly people need the same things as all other people, plus more healthcare. A LOT more. Some studies have shown that over half of a persons total lifetime healthcare expenditures occur in their senior years Imagine you kept spending the same you do today, but stopped earning income to pay for it. Then on top of that your healthcare spend goes up an order of magnitude. Then imagine this happens to a significant portion of your fellow countrymen in a short time period
- restalis 9y ago
  Healthcare was one of the things I've counted as important for the elderly people, I don't understand why you deemed necessary to repeat me on this. If it was to put the proportion in prospective, then whatever amount is necessary, the government already pays A LOT of it. When it's the government who pays, it doesn't make much difference for the patients if they begin to need more of it. "Elderly people need the same things as all other people" Like what? This is where it would have been actually interesting to have something meaningful from you, but here you're just glossing over. From what I noticed (and heard directly from elders around me) it's the other way around.
- tonyedgecombe 9y ago
  Do they need it as they age or in the final period of their life? If it's the later then it isn't really a problem, a year of medical care at 85 isn't much different from a year at 75. On the other hand if they are consuming healthcare from 65 until the end of their life then that is a bigger problem.
  - aaavl2821 9y ago
    It is both. Roughly one-third of a person's lifetime healthcare costs occur in middle age, and half occur when they are seniors. This is based on US data from 2004 but it is a large sample (almost 4M patients) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361028/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361028/

Tyrek 9y ago

The government pays for 70% of healthcare for working people. I.e. these are productive citizens (presumably) putting more into the system than they are getting out of it, at ~72% (mathematically, that's 2.5 productive citizens per elderly). If the proportion rises to 40/60, that's a 1.5 citizen/elderly ratio. That itself is a huge concern.

aaavl2821 9y ago

Elderly people need the same things as all other people, plus more healthcare. A LOT more. Some studies have shown that over half of a persons total lifetime healthcare expenditures occur in their senior years Imagine you kept spending the same you do today, but stopped earning income to pay for it. Then on top of that your healthcare spend goes up an order of magnitude. Then imagine this happens to a significant portion of your fellow countrymen in a short time period

restalis 9y ago
Healthcare was one of the things I've counted as important for the elderly people, I don't understand why you deemed necessary to repeat me on this. If it was to put the proportion in prospective, then whatever amount is necessary, the government already pays A LOT of it. When it's the government who pays, it doesn't make much difference for the patients if they begin to need more of it. "Elderly people need the same things as all other people" Like what? This is where it would have been actually interesting to have something meaningful from you, but here you're just glossing over. From what I noticed (and heard directly from elders around me) it's the other way around.
tonyedgecombe 9y ago
Do they need it as they age or in the final period of their life? If it's the later then it isn't really a problem, a year of medical care at 85 isn't much different from a year at 75. On the other hand if they are consuming healthcare from 65 until the end of their life then that is a bigger problem.
- aaavl2821 9y ago
  It is both. Roughly one-third of a person's lifetime healthcare costs occur in middle age, and half occur when they are seniors. This is based on US data from 2004 but it is a large sample (almost 4M patients) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361028/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361028/