Some individuals contend that business, the economy, and society can benefit from the aging population, while others oppose this opinion. In this essay, I will elaborate on both sides of the argument and the reasons why I lean toward the former opinion.
On the one hand, businesses can gain profit from this phenomenon by offering healthcare services for elderly people. Because of their old age, medical products and services is essential to ensure their physical well-being, increasing the demand for these types of products and services. If companies can take advantage of this and invest in healthcare services to fulfill customers’ need, they can earn more profits, fostering economic growth in the medical field. Moreover, the need for elderly care can create numerous job opportunities. Taking care of people in this age group requires an enormous number of individuals. A pertinent example for this is Hoang Long Company in Hanoi, which provided home care services for old people, creating jobs for nurses and caregivers. Therefore, thanks to these opportunities, the unemployment rate decreases significantly and more people can have a stable job to help them improve their living standards.
On the other hand, this trend can put a financial strain on the governments. As individuals in this age demographic have no ability to work and take care of themselves, it is crucial for authorities to spend a huge amount of money for healthcare and pensions. In Germany, the government has to raise taxes and remove some public services to offset the money spent for elderly people. Undoubtedly, this will negatively affect financial stability of the authority. Another pressing issue is that the increase of aging population reduces the number of people in the workforce. Because the number of workers decreases, companies did not have adequate number of employees to finish all the works, making them struggling in maximizing their productivity and make more profits. More businesses suffer from this phenomenon means that they have no valuable opportunity to develop, hindering the economic growth of the overall society.
In conclusion, while the aging population can bring certain benefits to businesses and the society, including gaining more profit from healthcare systems and minimizing the unemployment rate, I agree that putting a financial pressure on policymakers and shrinking the workforce is some drawbacks that can outweigh those merits. Therefore, governments should find ways to decrease average life expectancy.