The pressing demographic decline

Greece is aging. It is a realization that keeps being mentioned more and more urgently and imperatively. Recently, ratings agency Moody's predicted a demographic "crash" for the country in 2035, by measuring the elderly dependency ratio. According to this index, the proportion of people aged 65 and over to the working-age population (15-64) is expected to increase to 40% over the next decade, from 32% in 2023. This means that "a declining number of employees will support an expanding pool of retirees," with all that this entails for fiscal costs, healthcare needs, and reduced tax revenues, as income shifts from employment to retirement.

In short, seniors cost money. Of course, other indicators, social and emotional, highlight the role of the 65+ in the family, but also their contribution to positions of responsibility, in cities and in the countryside, in politics, in...