[lm28469]

> I always find it weird that people lament population decline.

> The largest dangers to Japanese society lie in the transition period, where many elderly people will need to be supported by relatively fewer working age people.

You answered your own question.

In a lot of countries the working population pays the pensions, more pensioners and less workers = more stress on the workers. In the long run it's good but it's going to suck ass for a few generations

And that's not even talking about the logistic of taking care of elders, it gets either very expensive or very time consuming, or both. For example in France it costs about $3k a month to have a small room in a shitty retirement house that is already overcrowded and understaffed

[red-iron-pine]

> For example in France it costs about $3k a month to have a small room in a shitty retirement house that is already overcrowded and understaffed

my grandmother had Alzheimer's and her care, in rural WA, was around $9000/month USD. Reasonably new building but still pretty understaffed.

[trafficante]

Same here in the burbs of Portland: ~$8k/month with a six figure buy-in. And that’s for a place aimed strictly at “professional class” Boomers - I can think of at least 2-3 other retirement places that are significantly more expensive.

More than anything else, THIS is what I think will ultimately kick off a housing crash. These “retirement” prices are clearly designed to squeeze the Boomers of their housing equity.