Eric's Beijing Diary

Did you know that every eight seconds another North American baby boomer turns sixty? This morning I was catching up on one of my favorite podcasts (NPR Books). I'm listening to guest Ken Dychtwald, who was introduced as a gerontologist. Gerontologist?? Boy does that make me feel good.!

There is, and will continue to be much discussion about the "baby boomer" phenomenon in the United States. Here in China, the situation is so different, that it is hard, even, to make a comparison. In America, the concern is that retiring baby boomers will place a heavy burden on the tax paying population. In China, people are often forced into retirement to make way for younger workers. It doesn't apply if you have your own business, but for many other positions, I have heard many stories about healthy, 50 year old people being forced to give up their jobs and accept pensions that were a fraction of their former salaries, just to make room for new professionals entering the work force.