In many countries, the proportion of older people is increasing steadily. Do you think it is a positive or negative change to society?

In recent years, there has been a growing percentage of the elderly in some countries. In my opinion, this trend has both positive and negative consequences in equal measure. The rise in the population of older people can be seen as positive for several reasons. Firstly, it is likely that some senior citizens possess intimate knowledge in terms of work, people’s relationships and life, so they could become great consultants for a young generation. For example, many senior managers might consult junior managers about tactics to overcome financial hardship in their corporations. Secondly, several elderly people enable to do full-time voluntary work such as becoming teachers in orphanages because they seem to have a great deal of spare time when they reach the age of retirement. As a result, those orphan children will have great opportunities to pursue their dreams in the future. However, the arguments given above can be considered from the opposite angle. The first reason is that an aging population is in the demand of receiving extra healthcare that could be a financial burden to national budgets. For example, the government has to invest state budgets to expanding old-age pension to meet the rise in that population, while those finance could be invested in other sectors. The second reason is that there would be a devoid of young workforce because of an increasing number of retired people. This could lead to a government budget deficit when the revenues generated from taxpayers cannot cover unexpected elderly-related expenses. In conclusion, the grow in the aging population will have both beneficial and detrimental effects.