THE WORLD TURNS GRAY, HOW COME?

The article entitled “the World Turns Gray” is really interesting. It illustrates an aging world that the elders will outnumber the youths in about 2040. There are many problems faced by people due to this situation. Some of them are the responsibility for taking care the elderly and economic crisis because of the decrease of workers.

To overcome the problem of the responsibility of the elderly nursing, the government, the local community, the religious organizations, and family may have to share the responsibility. For instance, the government should provide sufficient health facilities for the retired people whereas the religious organizations support them with psychological and mental treatments. However, the family has to play the most important role to take care of the elderly. For instance, if the parents become old, the children have to pour their attention and love to them as the proper reward. They have to feed and dress their parents just like the way their parents nurtured them when they were in childhood. In case that the children, who now become busy workers, do not have enough time to take care the elderly, they may ask other people to help them. The elderly will feel more comfortable when they stay at home with their children rather than stay at nursing house.

Another problem is the decline of national income caused by the decrease of workers. It may be solved by two possible ways. The first solution is the extension of retirement age. Some people who are still possible to work should continue to go to the workplaces. They may choose the type of work based on their current capability. For example, teachers may have the chance to teach their students up to 65 years-old of their age instead of 60 since they are still able to share their knowledge in the class. It is also applicable for professors who have to teach university students until 70 years-old. It means that the elderly people will have the chance to get involved in social activities in order that they may enjoy their life more meaningfully. The other solution is that the government may increase the rate of taxes. Since the retirement age is lengthened, the tax payment does not only belong to the young workers but also to the old employees. Therefore the income from this sector is still high. As a result, the percentage of taxes can be minimized, not as high as when the taxes are only the responsibility of the young workers.

To sum up, the problem of global aging may be overcome by introducing several policies. All elements of society may take the role to share the responsibility.