The BBC News report "UN warns over impact of rapidly ageing populations" tells that there will be 1 billion aged people in the next 10 years or they are one-ninth of world population, and later the number will pass 2 billion in 2050. This is a challenging condition that all government must face, but the United Nations warned developing countries about their welfare, pension and healthcare systems that would cost at a high price.
Many people love their old family member. I am also in that group because I love my 90-year-old grandmother. She is still alive, but only in bed. My beloved old woman has been sick for 2 years after she got stroke. What is in my mind is that she has suffered for the ailment and I would see this state of her like vegetative ill people. Euthanasia, or mercy killing, is a possible way to emancipate her from suffering, but I won't do that to my dearest family member.
To the problem of ageing societies, all humans in this planet will be affected. The world is growing in its number of population but it is still lack of preparation for the conditions that old persons are a big part in each country. Thailand is one of the advanced country in medical treatment, but the government does not reconsider much about the ageing people. For pension and healthcare systems, they are also provided as equal as other groups of age. However, these mean Thai government, like others, tends to spend more budget dealing with the old citizens and could affect the development and investment in essential fields.
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Reference
UN warns over impact of rapidly ageing populations. (2012, October 1) BBC NEWS. Retrieved October 1, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19784509
UN warns over impact of rapidly ageing populations. (2012, October 1) BBC NEWS. Retrieved October 1, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19784509
The impact of rapidly ageing populations, like you said, is a challenging condition that all government must face. In my point of view, the countries that live it need to start investing in increasing the birth rate or increase the number of immigrants. This is what is happening with Canada, they are investing in immigration because the population is aging, and they need young people, especially professionals in health care, like nurses, doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists and others. I think this is a good investment because the country needs people working to defray the expenses of those who can no longer work.
ReplyDeleteMy Grandmother's age is 72. She receives money from government in amount 500 baht per month that is a pension for thai people who is more 60 year old. I think this amount, 500 baht, is not enough for living of people who do not have revenue or not stay with their child. However, if gov. increases the pension, it will impact budget. In case that Gov. might be divide money for developing infrastructure to pay for old citizen I think that is not good for economic and whole people.
ReplyDeleteI think people should plan to saving money for retirement by themselves first, don’t wait for gov.’s helping. One good way is investing in RMF, retirement mutual fund. Rule of this fund is you must invest every year, not need same amount, until 55 years old. First benefit is that you will have much money for your retirement. Moreover, the money that are invest in every can bring to deduct tax payment.
Pension for ageing people in Thailand is not just that amount of 500 baht, but also includes pension for retired government officials and those who worked for state enterprises, such as Electricity Generating Authority, and Waterworks Authority, until their retirement. The latter group proportionates a huge number of government's budget each year. So,should we, including the government, shift our saving plan to the safer approach?
DeleteI am sad for Thai people that the government does not care enough for an old people. They provide only 500 baht that cannot help life better. I don’t have any grand-parents but my mother is getting old, my family never hopes about welfare from the government because we know that it is not a big surprise for our life. Therefore my sisters, my brother and me, we will take care if her by ourselves that is the best way to treat my mother.
DeleteIf Thai government provide higher rate of pension to the elderly, we must pay more tax.
DeleteI agree with Cee. Japanese workers (20-65 years old) have to pay for pension. Now, a lot of old people in Japan, but workers are not enough to take care of old people, so pension fee is high, but when we are 65 years old (about 25years later), the government won't be able to pay for us. This means we just pay, but we cannot get any money.
DeleteIt has been said that the system cannot keep, so I have to manage money by myself.
Saving money for retirement is important. I think we shouldn't rely on other people or government.
Although my father was in very good health until the end of his life at 80 years of age, he had a stroke a few years before which did affect his mind. Thankfully, not too seriously, and he was able to remain active and carry on his farming, business and other interests, though since he could no longer understand numbers, he had to hand over all the financial stuff to my mother. But he still found it frustrating not to be able to do some of the things that had once been so easy and normal. It was a sad event, but I was glad that he died quickly one morning when he was waking up to go to work as usual. He would have hated being bedridden, and probably would have refused treatment if he could in such a situation.
ReplyDeleteAnd now my 82 year old mother, who also remains active and physically well, has had a stroke, although a very minor one. We are hoping that she can also continue to enjoy her life without suffering or loosing her mind.
If I got Alzhemier's disease or something like that, I would prefer to be killed than go on living. In fact, I think without my mind, I would not be a person, just a body being kept alive for no good reason at enormous expense. I would not want that. I don't think anyone should make this decision for others, but I do think that if people want to die, just and moral laws will allow them to ask a doctor to painlessly kill them in a dignified and humane way.
That comment was my light break from the more demanding business of reviewing your paragraphs, although I am enjoying the topics and ideas in those.
DeleteI think for most of the people who are in a coma could not respond to anything. Therefore, he or she could not ask the doctor to let him or her die.
DeleteAlso, I think that the reason why many relatives of that mindless patients want to keep the body alive because they could not admit that their beloved person already passed away.
In Australia, we can now leave instructions before we become incapable that if we have a medical emergency, we are not to be given life-saving treatment. This protects some people from being kept alive as mindless vegetables, and as far as I know, every family in Australia respects the wishes of people who have given such clear instructions, even if they don't like it. I don't think any such case has ever been challenged in court. However, it is still not legally possible to leave written instructions for a doctor to actually kill you if you end up as a mindless body. They can let the body die if you have given such an instruction in advance, but they cannot kill it, although polls now suggest that a majority of Australians do favour changes to the law so that doctors can actively help patients who want it to die.
DeleteI got your point but I wonder how the doctor can follow the instruction without killing that person.
DeleteAustralian law, and that of many other countries now, treats allowing to die as different to killing. For example, I could give an instruction that if I suffered a stroke, no artificial breathing or heart treatment was to be used. If my lungs or heart subsequently stopped working, I would die.
DeleteBut many patients now want doctors to actively kill them by administering drugs to stop the heart of brain. This was legal for a short time in one Australian state, but then the federal government interfered to stop it, forcing people who want to die with dignity to live on in misery against their wishes.
Many who can afford it now travel to Switzerland to be killed in humane, dignified conditions by doctors in that country, where assisted suicide has been legal since at least 1998. The Wikipedia article on Swiss group Dignitas (at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dignitas_(assisted_dying_organisation) gives a useful introduction to this.
Japane is one of the country, where the propotion of aging people is already high and increasing rapidly. Japan has relatively well organized pension system, which makes my father's generation possible to live counting on it . But in my generation, it will be not enough, so we have to save money which covers the shortage of pension, or have to work longer.
ReplyDeleteHow to care the elderly people,who have
problems in their bodies or minds is more serious.
Even there is an another public insurance system, which covers the cost of care and offers help, sometimes it is not enough, and I know some people who have to quit their jobs to care the erderly parents. I don't know how to solve the problem, and I'm worried that the government doesn't know either.
I think this article "Why male Japanese wage-earners have only 'pocket money'" is a good example of 2 Japanese families. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19674306)
DeletePeople at this moment think hard about their financial plan and I agree that we should have our own economic security for the future. That will cut problems for the society of the next generation.
Cee,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad someone has finally mentioned that BBC News story, "Why male Japanese wage-earners have only 'pocket money'". I read it last week, and was tempted to blog it, but didn't want to in case someone else had found it equally fascinating and had chosen it as something to respond to.
I read the article about the allowance of Japanese husbands with interest. For most Japanese families it is a matter of course,that housewives manage how to "distribute" the income. How about in Thailand and other countries? Breadwinners manage money by themselves?
ReplyDelete