"The worst consequences of this demographic shift, per the World Bank, are economic. Soon, the shrinking working population in the U.S., Canada, or Germany won't be able to meet their own constant demands for high-quality goods and services. These rich, elderly countries will have to make a hard choice for economic survival: force people to work more, or allow immigrants to fill in?"
"In the long run, without intervention, the UN predicts a decline in population growth could cascade into a full-on population "collapse." That collapse is not likely to occur until well into the next century-if it comes at all. However, in the short run, population decline presents a real, and relatively simple economic problem: The West soon won't have enough workers."
"The ratio of working-age people to elderly people in rich countries will soon become so diminished support for elders will be unaffordable. In Japan, a nation already facing the consequences of a graying population, the average cost of nursing care is projected to increase 75% in the next 30 years, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warning the nation is on "the brink." In the U.S., think tanks have warned, an older population with more retirees means a shrinking tax base and higher demands on programs like Social Security and Medicare, along with a smaller number of working-age people to pay into"
Many Western countries face a profound demographic crisis driven by aging populations and record-low fertility rates. Shrinking working-age populations will struggle to meet demand for high-quality goods and services and will reduce the ratio of workers supporting elders. Governments will face choices between policies that compel longer working lives or policies that expand immigration to fill labor gaps. Long-run UN projections warn of a potential population collapse, though that risk is likely far in the future. Immediate pressures appear in Japan with sharply rising nursing-care costs and in the U.S. with higher demands on Social Security and Medicare. A radical plan has been proposed to avert economic disaster caused by these demographic shifts.
Read at Fortune
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