Eoin Treacy's view

Raising the age at which citizens become eligible for pension makes economic sense but is one of the thorniest issues to put before voters. Japan obviously has a vital need to urgently replace aging workers and while immigration is now allowed, the program needs to be vastly expanded.

What I find particularly interesting today is the fact that a group of septuagenarians are competing for the US presidency but the progressive agenda is aimed directly at a younger demographic unhappy with the division of debt burdens and social benefits. This is the kind of generation war that has the potential to rile the political landscape. If it does not result in an upset at this election, the potential for a change at the next election will grow simply because more of the elderly people will have died off.