Below article was taken from the Straits Times. I hope, our dear
government reads the papers daily.
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Prepare for the greying
Jan 9, 2006
The Straits Times
MENTION 'population crisis' and what comes to mind is runaway
growth. But a new worry is being posed by, of all things, slowing
expansion in population. In many parts of the world the number of
people continues to rise faster than planned for. Elsewhere,
population sizes are moderating. Just recently, it was announced a
national census had found Japan's population shrank by about 20,000
from last year's estimate. Japanese women were having fewer
children. Indeed, fertility rates are coming down around the world,
and not just in developed countries. According to one report,
Mexico's fertility rate may be lower than America's. Lower rates of
birth go hand in hand with an ageing general population, and this
is what presents new challenges for society.
An ageing population means an ever-smaller workforce must support a
rising number of retirees. But that crunch won't come for some
time. More immediately, employers will find it harder to find
workers to fill jobs. So rapidly ageing countries need to tweak
workforce availability. Japan, for example, is trying to increase
the number of women managers and teachers. It also wants to let
government employees work shorter hours, so that work won't get too
much in the way of looking after children and elderly parents.
Still, going forward there will be more old people with no children
to depend on. So while issues related to adequate pension funding
are one thing, governments will need to consider building social
infrastructure like retirement homes and support for the
independent elderly. These need to be slowly built up now, rather
than later when needs become critical; small outlays over many
years are easier to deal with than massive spendings later.
An ageing population is in fact a mark of policy success.
Healthcare advances have allowed people to live longer, and longer
lifespans are definitely a good thing. At the same time, lower
birth rates reduce burdens placed on the environment and on food
production. Of course, governments won't find it easy or affordable
to take care of a rising number of elderly citizens. But while it
will be a challenge, it contrasts with the potential crisis posed
by rapid population growth. The challenges of increasingly ageing
populations are precisely the ones the world should want.
