Editorial: Alarm

Greek society over the last decades has been confronted with a problem which shakes its foundations.

That is none other than the so-called demographic problem which is noted in all the research.

The latest study which is published in today’s Ta Nea notes that a toxic combination of the aging of the population, a low birth rate, and the explosion of flexible forms of employment will have an enormous cost.

The insurance system will be burdened by an additional 50bn euro, and that will lead to a hike in the retirement age.

Can citizens work until age 70 to support themselves? Can people at this age participate in the production process as if they were 10 or twenty years younger? They cannot.

This physical limitation is another parameter of the essential problem identified by experts

The Greek population is shrinking so much that it could face the threat of extinction.

The demographic problem is in some ways similar to climate change. It is a problem we must face now and one cannot afford to kick the can down the road.

Consequently a nationwide alarm bell is required in order to reverse course, and one must not forget that such a reversal of the demographic trend is a slow process.

All experts agree that we must ring the alarm bell now in order to see results in 30 to 40 years.

At long last, let this generation look after the next.