The explosion in the numbers of aging around the globe is generating novel thinking about the law. For example, in China there has been proposed a law requring adult children to visit their aging parents. If they don't, the parents can sue them, reports Sharon LaFraniere in THE NEW YORK TIMES. By 2050, it's predicted that one in four Chinese will be 65 or older. During those visits, the parents probably could persuade their children to contribute to their financial upkeep.
Can this happen in the U.S.? If entitlements like Social Security and Medicare are weakened, those in Congress could be pressured by their older constituents - who tend to study issues and vote - to provide protections in other ways. Those could include some kind of law which re-distributes some of the income of their offspring back to them.
European nations, where there is a low birth rate, might consider such laws to provide an incentive for citizens to have more children. Recall back in pre-industrial economic times, operating a farm positioned children as assets.
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