Pete, in common parlance a Ponzie style scheme relies upon ever increasing inputs to keep it going, stop those inputs and it collapses, it doesn't necessarily imply fraudulent activity. That was my intended meaning and Loz clearly understood that. As the population of the UK increases we will need more and more new people, immigrants or new births as Glidd mentioned, to support the aging population and as those age themselves the problem grows. Hence Ponzie scheme. Is that OK ?
I'm here to help you, Pete. Don't be shy about seeking my assistance "in future". Part of your enjoyment of the forum appears to be to inspire debate and critical thinking. Occasionally you misinterpret others' meanings but often you're on the money. The fact that people often misinterpret your posts as being argumentative, deliberately provocative and patronising is, I have to say, lamentable. However, we all have our crosses to bear (that's a metaphor again, I am not referring to real crosses). As for me, as far as off-topic matters are concerned, I enjoy posting metaphors, carefully considered opinions and tongue-in-cheek digs at will, and I'm delighted when interested folks work out which is which. Your thoughts on how readers will interpret my posts "in future" is interesting, but hardly binding. You see how it is.
In common parlance, a Ponzi scheme is a type of fraud. If you choose to use it to mean "anything which may eventually collapse", well good luck with that - but expect lots of misunderstandings!
Personally, I feel that a Ponzi scheme is a good way of describing how pensions work. In the Ponzi scheme, it is fresh money fed in from the bottom that pays for the withdrawals at the pointy end of the pyramid. I assume that everyone remembers the craze for the "aeroplane game" at the beginning of the 90s where you had to put in money as a passenger, then when the "plane filled up" you were promoted to crew if you got enough people to sign up, and finally "captain" when you made several thousand pounds. It was of course a Ponzi scheme where some people made thousands and others were burned - it being, of course, a zero sum game. A Ponzi scheme in this case may have a hint of exaggeration for effect about it, but pensions surely work in the same way. Ponzi schemes can go on for years, just so long as the base of the pyramid continues to grow. When it starts to shrink, that's when the manure hits the ventilator. I haven't seen any country really address the issue (though I bet Norway, with their pot of gold, has). Ageing populations are all over the show, from the US to Japan to pretty much the whole of Europe. People just don't talk about it or pretend it's not happening as regards how it affects the pensions that people are relying on. But it is happening, and it's going to get worse and the only way out is breeding or immigration (or euthanasia, but we won't go there).
