2 editors Volume 18, Issue 12 February 29, 2012 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Shelby Petersen MANAGING EDITOR Kali FLick PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Travis Holmes COPY EDITOR Jessica N. Shapiro NEWS EDITOR Hanna Petersen ARTS EDITOR Darcie Smith FEATURES EDITOR Laura Bevacqua UNBC LIFESTYLES EDITOR Jarrod Weisner SPORTS EDITOR Vacant PHOTO EDITOR John Hall The Editor's Edict: Is reading week over already? Why is it that during a regular week, the days seem to drag out for longer than they should, but when you are on break they fly by? I hope that you all got the respite you deserved during your time away from academia. Now that Read- ing week is over, we are officially on the home stretch. One more month before exams. Are you stressed out yet? Have you even begun to study and prepare all of your final projects or are you still basking your post reading break coma? There are only two issues left for OTE this semester. ONLY TWO! So, if you haven’t contributed yet, it is about time you submit something (over-the-edge@ unbc.ca) before it is too late. I mean, what is better than seeing your name in print? It is almost awesome as winning 6 Grammies...right? Speaking of being super famous and talented, Over the Edge is still looking to fill a couple of positions for the 2012/2013 school year. I know it seems uber early to be hiring, but we just want to get the word out. If you didn’t know already (you should because I write about this every. single. issue.) Over the Edge is the cat’s pyjamas, we’re the shit, the best thing this university has seen. No seriously - we’re a pretty cool group of kids. And you want to be cool too, right? I mean who doesn’t? Well, we would like to help you out. You can be cool too! All you have to do is write for us. You can be a bit character in the sitcom that is our life take the role of a staff writer, or you can be a recur- February 29, 2012 - Over the Edge / Shelby Petersen, Editor in Chief ring character and apply to be an Editor. It’s all up to you. Editor’s get a month honorarium of $200 and staff writers get the satisfaction that they are part of something greater. So, if these mixed metaphors appeal to you, send us your resume and a sample of your writing to over-the-edge@unbc.ca. The earlier you apply, the greater a chance you have of being excepted into our exclusive club. Okay, I think I have rambled sufficiently enough for this issue. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at over-the-edge@unbe.ca ATTN: Shelby and I will try and help you figure them out! The Demogra A Great Harm to Both phic Crisis? Young and Old CONTRIBUTORS Paul Strickland Ali Schwabe The deadline for the next issue is Monday, March 5th Over the edge is the official independent publishing media of students at the University of Northern British Columbia. As such, it is our mandate to report on issues of interest to students in the Northern Region. We encourage all students, both on the main and regional campuses to submit to Over the Edge. Over the Edge is part of the Canadian University Press network of papers, otherwise known as CUP. Cup is an organization that is entirely owned by member papers, and provides such services as a news wire and advertisements to Over the Edge. Over the Edge is published every second week during the fall and winter semesters Office Location: 16-350 MAILING ADDRESS 3333 University Way Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9 PHONE (250) 960-5633 FAX (250) 960-5407 EMAIL over-the-edge@unbc.ca PAUL STRICKLAND CONTRIBUTOR ntentional statistical distortions |= repeated dire warnings that basic social programs are un- sustainable are unravelling our safety net and tearing at-our social fabric -- at great harm to both young and old. The new bogus field of what author Lillian Zimmerman calls “apocalyp- tic demography” is a case in point. Experts in this pseudo-science, talk- ing in terms of “a grey tsunami”, say “aging populations threaten our very way of life,” says Zimmerman, along-time associate of the Gerontol- ogy Research Centre at Simon Fraser University (Globe and Mail, Sept. 19, 2011, p. A13). Ostensibly neutral but deliberately misleading terms like “dependency ratios” also skew debate at a crucial time of budget planning at both the federal and provincial levels, she observes. “This suggests that the growing number of aging people are dependent on younger ones,” Zim- merman notes. “It’s a crude measure- ment dividing the number of those under 65 by the number over 65. Yes, Canadian women now live to be 83 and men 77, with the gap narrowing somewhat. We are told and retold that, by 2031, a quarter of the population will be over 65, and it’s all discussed in the manner of an approaching disas- ter. It’s simply irrational to assume that all persons over 65 are sick or dependent on those under 65.” Par- liamentary budget officer Kevin Page has said that growing numbers of people over 65 will soon create severe budget problems because they are a demographic group that has moved from being taxpayers to people who drain tax revenue. Many of people making dire predictions based on apocalyptic demography are federal Conservatives or provincial neo-lib- erals or people close to their political philosophy. However, during her visit to Cafe Voltaire in Prince George on Monday,Feb. 20, Parkdale-High Park MP Peggy Nash (NDP) said there is no. sudden demographic crisis that has surprised our political leaders. “The Conservatives have known that the Baby Boomers have been mov- ing through the system ever since they were born immediately after the Second World War,” she said. Fed- eral and provincial policy-makers successfully reformed the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) in the 1990s so that it would be sustainable for gen- erations to come, Linda Sims, media relations person for the CPP Invest- ment Board, says in a letter to the editor of the Nov. 4, 2010, Globe and Mail. “The Chief Actuary of Canada published a report in 2009 reaffirming that the CPP is sustainable, at current contribution and payout rates, for the 75-year period covered by his report,” she notes. The CPP Investment Board invests funds not needed to pay cur- rent benefits, according to Sims. “Tts assets of $130 billion are pro- jected to grow to $465 billion within two decades,” Sims adds. “It will be 11 years before even a small portion of the investment income will be re- quired to help pay pension benefits.” The crisis perspectives of many pol- iticians and media experts are un- warranted, Zimmerman continues. Popular culture virtually ignores a number of issues regarding aging populations. “Older people contribute to the economy,” she says. “They are the largest collectivity of Canadian volunteers; they provide for their older adult children as necessary, especially in times of recession and unemployment. Grandparents give generously in time and money to their grandkids for sports and education fees, as unpaid caregivers of grand- children and older aging relatives. They give liberally to charities.” Older people are generally healthier now than in the past, leading vig- orous, productive lives, she adds. “Older people pay taxes like every- one else on their income, pensions, annuities and other revenue sources,” Zimmerman says. “The longer they live, the longer they pay.” Alan Cas- sels, researcher at the University of Victoria, makes reference to the work of British scientist Richard Dawkins when he says misleading ‘memes’ have been introduced into this debate. Genes transmit biological informa- tion, whereas memes are ideas that transmit cultural information, Cas- sels points out. Memes like viruses move quickly through a population and transmit often erroneous current notions and ideas about health care, “and they can be highly communic- able, spread pandemic-like and infect quickly and broadly,” Cassels say. “They can be destructive by raising unnecessary panic and fear, and fuel irresponsible political responses. ‘The aging of the population will destroy public health care’ is a perni- cious meme invoked by demograph- ers, politicians, economic pundits, media columnists and others.” However, independent researchers and economists conclude that about one percentage point of the annual in- crease in health-care spending is due to “aging”, he says. “While the aging population is contributing to increas- es in health-care spending, increased utilization (more drugs, doctor visits, surgeries and diagnostic/screening tests) contributed about four times as much,” he observes. “Maybe the grey- ing tsunami should be rewritten as the ‘tsunami of over-medicalization.’ “A B.C. study found that over the past 30 years population growth accounted for seven per cent of growth in health care spending, aging 14 per cent, in- flation 19 per cent and increased util- ization 59 percent,” Cassels writes. Politicians, media spokespeople , and columnists don’t always lay sole blame on the elderly for the growth in health system costs, but many of them do, he concludes. “Those who do de- serve a public scolding for transmit- ting and reinforcing a meme which could shape future health policy op- tions and stifle true debate.” The much-respected dean of the Rotman School of Management at the Univer- sity of Toronto, Roger Martin, advo- cated in a Globe and Mail column on Nov. 3, 2010, that the retirement age