China Raises Retirement Age

First Time Since 1978, Sparking Social Fury

A few weeks ago, we warned that the entire Chinese experiment was on the verge of collapse because while on one hand the welfare state was crumbling due to Beijing's stubborn insistence not to stimulate the economy at any cost (normally, it would be admirable to be so stubbornly insistent on austerity but when austerity threatens social collapse, it may be time to reassess), this was accentuated by an explosion in social unrest as youth unemployment soared, and worker strikes surged across the nation. While we detailed the various reasons that had pushed China to the edge of the abyss, one section was especially notable: our preview of what was the logical next step in China's belt-tightening ways - raising the retirement age - and the obvious blowback storm it would generate. In a key socioeconomic planning meeting concluded last month, the government vowed to improve the social security system by addressing the restrictions faced by migration workers. In response to the country's aging population, it added that the statutory retirement age -- currently 60 years for men and between 50 and 55 for women -- would be raised gradually and voluntarily. To this we added that there is, of course, zero historical record of a "centrally-planned civilization that has managed to raise the retirement age either "voluntarily" and without clashes, violence, and collapse in social cohesion, precisely the three things that Beijing fears the most." Read More at https://shorturl.at/ormil