You’re right — we’re behind schedule.
They’re in the same demographic bind on social welfare systems that we are. If you look at Japan, Germany, Italy, et al — they’re collapsing from within, as their boomers get older and start sucking the coffers dry, they have a real (and very deep) gap in working population contributing to these pay-as-you-go social welfare systems (their equivalents of our Social Security and Medicare).
Our rate of immigration and higher birthrate has postponed our demographic/economic implosion by about eight to 10 years, but even we cannot escape it.
These pay-go systems, coupled with the huge “pig in the python” that is the Boomer generation, is going to cause huge re-evaluation of the social welfare costs in the “social democrat” states of Europe and Japan. Go read some of the english language press in German (or about Germany) on their policy changes on this stuff. It is a very sobering read.
You must be joking. First of all, the US has the highest rate of population growth of any developed country, i.e., almost 1% a year. Since 1970, we have added 100 million people and will add another 165 million in the next 50 years. There will be no demographic implosion. Instead, there has been a demograhic explosion in terms of population growth thanks to immigration. Despite immigration, we will continue to be an aging society. And out of control immigration and population growth will actually hurt us economically as most of this growth will add to our economic burden.
In 1950 there were 16 workers for every retiree; today there are 3.3, and by 2030 there will be two.