This is why we need more people having children as well as more immigrants to stave off this future:
‘This will be catastrophic’: Maine families face elder boom, worker shortage in preview of nation’s future(…) Across Maine, families like the Flahertys are being hammered by two slow-moving demographic forces – the growth of the retirement population and a simultaneous decline in young workers – that have been exacerbated by a national worker shortage pushing up the cost of labor. The unemployment rate in Maine is 3.2 percent, below the national average of 3.7 percent.
The disconnect between Maine’s aging population and its need for young workers to care for that population is expected to be mirrored in states throughout the country over the coming decade, demographic experts say. And that’s especially true in states with populations with fewer immigrants, who are disproportionately represented in many occupations serving the elderly, statistics show.
“We have added an entire generation since we first put the safety net in place but with no plan whatsoever for how to support them,” said Ai-jen Poo, co-director of Caring Across Generations, which advocates for long-term care. “As the oldest state, Maine is the tip of the spear – but it foreshadows what is to come for the entire country.”
