aging (spelt without an E)

Nouveau-oldie Albert shares these highlights of two recent articles in the paper.


First, there's the economic angle:

Only an economist could turn the prospect of living longer into a looming crisis.

This week, the IMF was fretting about the ''longevity risk'' facing economies with ageing populations. Like a slow-moving, grey blob spreading out across the economy ''as populations age in the decades ahead, the elderly will consume a growing share of resources''.

An ageing population hurts the budget bottom line in two ways, by increasing demands for spending and reducing potential revenue.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/-1xcef.html

And then there's the health angle:

The ''new'' old age is where 80-year-olds go hang gliding, 90-year-olds win chess tournaments and centenarians play competitive table tennis.

Accentuating the negative - old age poverty, elder abuse - is so yesterday.

The boomers will defy history and age ''successfully''.

There is another part to the message about successful ageing which is a big worry. The new old age won't be for everyone. A happy, mentally and physically active old age will be a reward for those who put the effort in, starting now. We'll get the old age we deserve. Those who end up suffering the old-fashioned old age with its indignities, frailties and mental decline will be seen as losers who didn't try hard enough.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/-1xc6m.html

I've advised Albert to get on the treadmill now, and be one step ahead of economic euthanasians, who will want to cull 'undeserving' oldies.