For people in the United States and many western countries socialized retirement came into being in the 20th century and caused a revolution in the way families dealt with retirement. Traditionally, worldwide, it had been the family's responsibility to take care of the elderly.
But, for places such as the United States social security came into being in the 20th century, and became a partial support and, in some cases, the only support for the most elderly in the society. Money was taken from all and put into the system with the result of a cushion of cash to rely on when retirement was at hand.
It was quite surprising to me, when I arrived in China that I found that this "communist" country had no such system in place. Instead, this country of 1.3 billion people still relies upon the children to support them when retirement comes. There is no social security.
In their system, the normal scenario is for the eldest child to be the primary support of the parents and even grandparents living either in or near the oldest male.
So, what happens in the new China? The new China includes a new and important wrinkle. We must remember that in the past, families were made up of a reasonable number of sons and daughters who would share in keeping the retired parents and grandparents comfortable. Today China has a policy of one child per family with penalties for people who exceed that one child limit.
China's One Child Policy Scrutinized
So, the result of this system is a reliance upon ONE CHILD to do what had been a shared responsibility by a family of siblings. This has created a stressed out society which is more than normally focused on making more and more money than had been the norm in the past because they are now the sole support for an upside-down pyramid of parents and grandparents above them. In this society parents expect and demand the continuation of the traditional system of the support of the elderly.
There are also other factors which feed into this growing problem such as a major migration of the population from rural areas to the mega-cities. These issues will be talked about in upcoming blog entries.
I welcome comments to this and any blogs. Please join in discussing and feel free to share to other internet outlets.
But, for places such as the United States social security came into being in the 20th century, and became a partial support and, in some cases, the only support for the most elderly in the society. Money was taken from all and put into the system with the result of a cushion of cash to rely on when retirement was at hand.
It was quite surprising to me, when I arrived in China that I found that this "communist" country had no such system in place. Instead, this country of 1.3 billion people still relies upon the children to support them when retirement comes. There is no social security.
In their system, the normal scenario is for the eldest child to be the primary support of the parents and even grandparents living either in or near the oldest male.
So, what happens in the new China? The new China includes a new and important wrinkle. We must remember that in the past, families were made up of a reasonable number of sons and daughters who would share in keeping the retired parents and grandparents comfortable. Today China has a policy of one child per family with penalties for people who exceed that one child limit.
China's One Child Policy Scrutinized
So, the result of this system is a reliance upon ONE CHILD to do what had been a shared responsibility by a family of siblings. This has created a stressed out society which is more than normally focused on making more and more money than had been the norm in the past because they are now the sole support for an upside-down pyramid of parents and grandparents above them. In this society parents expect and demand the continuation of the traditional system of the support of the elderly.
There are also other factors which feed into this growing problem such as a major migration of the population from rural areas to the mega-cities. These issues will be talked about in upcoming blog entries.
I welcome comments to this and any blogs. Please join in discussing and feel free to share to other internet outlets.
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