How many of us?
Just when it seemed to be getting rather quiet, Martyn Best, notices that there's now suddenly many more of us.
Never in history have so many people been living in the UK, as our new found neighbours suddenly blossom to 61.4m.
A reason to celebrate, surely, as the cute new cherubs, well 791,000 of the little rascals actually, arrived last year. What a relief we all say to Mr. Stork, as at last future salvation is at hand for our aging population. China had to relax it's one child policy recently to balance its redistribution of that age curve, but we just seemed to have let nature take its course. So, all's well with our world.
But no, the other side of this surge in births is matched by a
still longer lasting population that is expected to see about
42%
of us over retirement age in 2060, - well, I certainly will be, if
still here, as will pretty much everyone reading this.
As to whether that's good, or bad - guess what? The whole issue becomes the latest political football.
Immigration is to blame; mixed tolerant cultures are good for us; no population policy; social security and pensions up the wall; we're too old, we're too young and we're all doomed.
Well, how about just occasionally we all accept that things
happen, and not make any capital out of it. Be graceful in
accepting that tides ebb and flow, and little baby booms, or
pensioner growth happens. It's no-one's fault (well, yes,
apart from the obvious), and let's work together to understand
the implications and plan ahead.
Meanwhile, do you invest in prams and nappies, or wheelchairs and care homes? Both, I would suspect.
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