We need a new end game

We are at a period in history where the elder generation is living longer, and there are fewer members in the younger generation. This is an issue with the current systems in place. Social security was set up when the baby-boom was underway. At that time, the average life span was around 65 years. So, to promise to pay people in their twilight years made sense… since these were only expected to last 3 or 4 years. Plus, there was an abundance of young workers to pay for it. It was a reasonable safety net.

Today, the average life span is closer to 75 years, and is getting longer. In fact, we have many members of the century club these days. This isn’t even taking The Singularity into account. The fact is, people are living longer.

People are no longer having large families, so the distribution of age is much different. Population growth is reversing in many countries. The nuclear family is gone, or at least mutated into something completely different. The only reason it hasn’t been noticed yet in the USA is immigration.

We have an extremely large population of Baby Boomers entering retirement age… a trend which will continue for another 15 to 20 years. This group has paid into the system for their entire working career and expect to receive compensation. Rightly so… but the funds have been squandered.

Change happens. Sure, the old standby of using War to fix the economy is available, but this will exacerbate the problem since only the young are sent to war.

Extending the retirement age to 72 years seems a reasonable thing. But, companies are not hiring the experienced, displaced workers. A person over 50 years old out of work is simply out of luck.

Something must give. Change must happen quickly and at a very fundamental level. Everything is different, so everything we do must be different.

It is time to get real, or face a reset nobody will understand and many will die through.