Reason Number 23 - Graying Reds

‘Fault Lines On The Face Of China: 50 Reasons Why China May Never Be Great’ - Excerpt 44
“China’s dilemma is that it will grow old before it grows rich. As the number of elderly continues to rise and China’s use of the one-child policy prevents an increase in younger people to support them, the situation will get exponentially worse.

By 2050, by some estimates the average lifespan will be an incredible 85 years old. This means many one of the one-child workers of the future will have to devote even more resources to supporting two retired parents and four retired grandparents. About 65% of the elderly population in rural areas receive no benefits from China’s social welfare system. By 2040, when China’s aged population will be at its peak, the country’s social security budget will have a shortfall of US$128 billion annually.

China’s government has plenty of bland pronouncements to make about its attitude towards the elderly. 'The State values and cherishes senior citizens for their knowledge, experience and skills, and respects them for their good ethical values. It thus makes vigorous efforts to create good conditions for senior citizens to bring into full play their expertise and capability, and gives them encouragement and support to integrate into society and continue to make contributions to the social development of China' said a recent white paper on the elderly from the Information Office of China’s State Council. But apart from mentioning current facts and figures – such as that the nation had only 20,000 professional nurses for the aged by the end of 2005, the 7,500 word document (released at the end of 2006) had almost nothing concrete to say about what needs to be done in the future.”