But the pension funds, insurance and the social service system is good out there, so the old people have a place to go to instead of being dependent.

Its not that lucrative in terms of life. It might be lucrative in terms of status and being able to *live*, but its not the same as being able to live with your family. It has to be part of the culture.

In India this will take a long long time to be established which is what worries me the most. Saving is not lucrative any longer and then there is no guarantee that you will continue to have business. Govt jobs are once again the safest I guess 😉

India already has a comfortable society to live in. In most cases, you can actually depend and plan around your kids growing up and supporting you. Not the same case here.

If India could develop a healthy economy by the money flow model along with the same social culture that we have, things might change for the better, I think.

There are dedicated old age homes where people stay for the rest of their lives until they are no more.

But the pension funds, insurance and the social service system is good out there, so the old people have a place to go to instead of being dependent. In India this will take a long long time to be established which is what worries me the most. Saving is not lucrative any longer and then there is no guarantee that you will continue to have business. Govt jobs are once again the safest I guess 😉

BUT it is also the a fact that we are moving towards “spend now pay later” economy. This is a great model if the economy is booming and you are assured that the money is not going to dry up. Also this is good when the infrastructure for insurance and health services is great, but India is in a transition phase. This translates to very low interest rates on your savings, poor insurance services, poor investment markets, which inturn means that small businessmen and professionals who went into retirement OR are planning to retire soon with a small capital will be in a fix. Swati’s father has already seen his income from interest shrink by almost 50% My Aunt who is a doctor is similarly worried…

After living here in the US for 3 months now, I realised one thing. This economy thrives on the *spending* that people do. People are encouraged to spend more and more so that the money rotates. Almost 75% of the stuff I see in the markets be it clothes or electronics, are made in China. Even the seweage gutter covers in NYC are “Made in India” (will post a pic soon).

When you think about how this spending works, money if stored at one place, stagnates and blocks resources. If you’d spend it, it’d flow out to others enabling them to be more capable with *money*. They in turn will spend, and finally this becomes a cycle coming back to you, coz the guy who pays you is more capable with spending and you get payed more.

BUT (:-D) yes, old age situation is really bad here. I’ve seen so many people in pathetic situations. There are dedicated old age homes where people stay for the rest of their lives until they are no more. I have never seen an american kid taking her / his *old* grandfather for a walk or for a cup of coffee or even accompanying in the train, blah.

And then the americans come for a trip to India and say – “Oh wow! what a culture!”. Blah! They have made themselves strong economically. But culture wise, if you cant earn your bread yourself, its very difficult to survive.