in the west, in europe and america, the big economic story is a demographic one — a rapidly ageing population and a dwindling tax take with which to support our increasingly doddery citizens.
在西方,在欧洲和美国,人口统计最能说明问题,快速的老龄化趋势,越来越少的税收要支持越来越多的老人。
domestic help funded from savings may keep a pensioner at home for a few years, but when he becomes too doddery to make a cup of tea, he will be coaxed into residential care.