Wow, once again older generations pulling up the ladder on advantages they had that no longer exist for younger generations.
Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care
11–20 of 216 posts
Re: Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care
#12Makes sense since they don’t produce future taxpayers. They should also adjust retirement age based on life expectancy -of course people won’t like this but you can’t overcome the math. Separately, I also think airfare should be in part based on weight.
Childless people have a shorter life expectancy by ~2 years. So if we unsocalize the cost and base it on that factor, people with children should be paying more as they are a strain on the system for longer.
Fair. They need to calculate the numbers and come out with fair payouts. Naively it would seem individuals (children) pay more in taxes than it takes to cover two years.
Re: Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care
#13There's a bunch of criticism, but this is in my view the only general approach that makes sense (globally) and should have been done 50 years ago already. IMO a big factor for the whole sub-replacement fertility in developed nations (and resulting demographic problems) is that the state has invalidated/replaced all the economical gain that families got from children (cheap "workers" and elder care), but the chld-rela…
Society pays a lot for children as well. Including members without children.
E.g. they have "free" higher education in Germany isn't it? Maybe not even just for domestic students?
Re: Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care
#14This is very cruel towards people who want to have children but can't.
They can always adopt?
Re: Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care
#15There's a bunch of criticism, but this is in my view the only general approach that makes sense (globally) and should have been done 50 years ago already. IMO a big factor for the whole sub-replacement fertility in developed nations (and resulting demographic problems) is that the state has invalidated/replaced all the economical gain that families got from children (cheap "workers" and elder care), but the chld-rela…
You are not wrong. But the reality of this government in Germany is that they are also cutting down on the assistance that parents receive.
With both of those combined they are currently just redistributing wealth to the elderly that have created this mess.
Re: Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care
#16Makes sense since they don’t produce future taxpayers. They should also adjust retirement age based on life expectancy -of course people won’t like this but you can’t overcome the math. Separately, I also think airfare should be in part based on weight.
Two years ago I was booked for a flight with my wife and four kids. I would say the average of all 6 of us at the time was about 85lbs. Not only that, but because we have to fit in a vehicle with all of our stuff, we pack light, at most one roll-aboard each.
The plane was overweight so they were choosing reservations to involuntary bump to the next day and of course we were selected. No amount of reason mattered; if they bumped us based on an “average weight”, they’d be no better off than when they started.
Re: Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care
#17Because the elders haven't extracted enough wealth from younger generations? Because economics has nothing to do with people choosing not to have kids? I'm picturing Germany as Sideshow Bob walking right into another rake.
I'm a childfree adult, and this proposed bill makes perfect sense to me. I see it not as incentivizing people to have kids, but instead as a way to more fairly spread the burden as populations age.
I can easily understand that if everyone went my route (i.e. no kids) that society would collapse by definition, and my later years would be inherently miserable. I'm depending on others that do have kids (and sacrificed a lot in their 20s, 30s and 40s, a sacrifice I was not willing to make) so I can pay for medical and aged care when I'm old. So paying a slight amount more for this support seems highly reasonable to me.
Re: Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care
#18There's a bunch of criticism, but this is in my view the only general approach that makes sense (globally) and should have been done 50 years ago already. IMO a big factor for the whole sub-replacement fertility in developed nations (and resulting demographic problems) is that the state has invalidated/replaced all the economical gain that families got from children (cheap "workers" and elder care), but the chld-rela…
Society pays a lot for children as well. Including members without children.
The fact that birth rate is so low in countries with good social security safe net suggests that the society isn't paying enough.
Re: Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care
#19Every rapidly aging country (most of them) will need to either do something like this, or deal with a total collapse of social services.
What about redistribution of housing and readjustment of older pensions?
Re: Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care
#20"The bill would have contributions from childfree adults increase by 0.7% over a period of years, meaning they would pay 2.5% of their income each month. Their employer will be expected to pay 1.8%. For adults with children the rates will remain the same: 1.8% for people with one child, 1.55% for people with two children, and 1.3% for people with three or more children."
I don't have children and this doesn't seem inherently unfair to me. It's an acknowledgement of the care labor these households are doing.
That said, I'd prefer to see it be progressive by income as well. A couple without children in the bottom income decile shouldn't be paying more than a couple with children in the top income decile.