A Dying Country: Japan to lose 30% of population over next 50 years,40% of remaining will be 65 yrs+

[JDPriestly]

20. Money is only worth what you can buy with it.

Imagine a country in which 40% of the population is over the age of 67 and in which every member of that 40% has saved 20% of the income they earned during their working years.

That society will have lots of money sitting in investment accounts, banks and savings accounts, enough to fund lots of businesses. The elderly should have plenty of money to buy lots of services and products.

But -- who is going to produce the services and products? The young people? The healthy, working age people?

There aren't enough of them. So, the money that the older people have saved will have to compete for the few products and services that the insufficient number of young people can produce. The result may be inflation. There are other possibilities, but inflation is likely to be one of them.

Money is like a flowing river. You own it for the moment that it passes through your life, and then it really isn't yours. The money you have in the bank -- do you really know where it is, what it is doing? Are you sure it will be there when you try to withdraw it? And if you do, what will it be worth?

The answers to all those questions depend on the social reality in which you are living.

We need to reduce our population, but we need children and young people as well as older people. There needs to be a balance. Unfortunately, the baby boomers are a big population bulge. Maybe it will be possible for future generations of older people to stay in the workplace longer. Medical advances and demand for labor may make that possible. That could be the answer for Japan.