Guns vs. canes

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

After decades of big growth, China's economy is slowing down and showing some weaknesses.  "[M]ore people [are] now exiting the workforce than entering it."

Hundreds of millions of peasants and laborers have paid nothing into any pension system. But the government wants to start building such a program, and it will be a huge expense. So . . economic growth is slowing down because there are fewer in the workforce, while costs to the country are escalating to take care of a growing number of seniors.

Not long ago, experts predicted that China's economy and military power would soon overtake the size of America's. But now that prediction is being questioned. Will they make the choice to allow an exploding elderly population to live in poverty while they challenge America's military preeminence? Or will their military dreams take a back seat?

(from The Atlantic)