Would it be bad if our pensioners took a job?

OK, if you don't give enough money to pensioners, then give them a job and let them work! It's not like you're going to make people die of hunger, so give them a chance to work!

I don't know where to find a job for so many people, we can't even find a job for young people who are able-bodied, if you say where will we find a job for so many pensioners, I don't know about that.

Well, if you don't pay them a decent salary, then find them a job and let them work!

According to Social Security Institution (SGK) data, the number of retired people in Turkey at the end of 2023 was 16 million 30 thousand 256. 

Do you know what these many people can do?

For example, they can start a business. I don't know, if they lift one kilo each, the total weight they can lift is 16 million kilos, which is not a small labour force at all! 

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Let's analyse this subject and do some calculations. 

Let us first try to understand what kind of weight 16 million kilos is.

You know that one cubic metre of water weighs one tonne, and since one tonne weighs one thousand kilos, that means that 16 million kilos is 16 thousand kilos. So we are talking about 16 thousand m3 of water.

What kind of volume is 16 thousand m3?

If there was a pool four metres by four metres, one metre deep, that would be 16 m3 of water. 

A thousand of these! 

A thousand four metre by four metre pools means 16 thousand m3 of water!

Can't you visualise it?

OK, then let's try to understand it in another way.

Imagine a 16 metre wide road. 

Lane widths of 3.00 m may be considered appropriate for secondary roads with less traffic such as third class or village roads, 3.50 m for second class roads and 3.60 to 3.75 m for first class main roads. 

If we consider a very comfortable road lane to be 4 metres, I am talking about a road with at least four lanes. 

Here is an area with the width of a four-lane road, with a water body one metre high, and at the same time one kilometre long! 

That is 16 thousand m3.

Here we are talking about such a body of water when we say what 16 million pensioners can do.

Not bad, is it?

If you ask 16 million pensioners to hold such a reservoir full of water, I swear that they will hold and lift it. 

They can lift much more, but I said an average of one kilo for the weight they can lift. 

Otherwise, uncle Hasan, for example, is strong, if you give him ten kilos, he can carry it all the way home from the market. 

Let's let Aunt Ayşe carry five kilos. She also goes to the market to eat. She goes to the evening market, picks up whatever she finds rotten and cheap and comes home.

I say each pensioner can carry at least one kilo on average!

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And how long can all pensioners carry such a huge burden together?

It's over, and now you're going to make pensioners carry the burden, is that it?

No, no, I'm just giving an example. 

Well, don't they carry the market shopping from the market to the house, I guess they can carry it at least that much.

You say one kilometre, I say 500 metres. It can be more, but if you want to carry this much load, that's enough!

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It is said that the salaries received by our pensioners are covered by the working labour force. Although this information is not normally true, I cannot say that there is no truth in this because of the mistakes made so far.

I have already written about this issue before, it is not possible to cover the salaries of our pensioners with pension premiums. In any case, the state has to provide additional state support for salaries.

This support is said to be covered by the premiums paid by current employees.

According to the labour force statistics announced on 15 April 2024, the number of employed people was 32 million 263 thousand people. The premiums received from 32 million employees pay the salaries of 16 million pensioners!

The premiums paid by those 16 million retired people when they worked also covered the salaries of those who retired in their time! 

In the interim, the state has used the accumulated money of those who paid the premiums to retire one day for other purposes!

What can we do today? There is already no money in the coffers! If salaries were paid by printing money, inflation would increase! 

And I think this is also opposed by some organisations that have promised to lend money from abroad these days. Therefore, even if those in power want to pay salaries by printing money, they cannot do it. 

Yes, whether you call it foreign powers or incompetent economic management, the result is obvious.

We cannot pay enough salaries to our pensioners!

Then let them contribute to the country's production. Let them have additional earning opportunities.

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So what can these additional earning opportunities be?

My late mother used to knit something with crochet at home. For example, something like this.

Although these handicrafts are no longer worth what they used to be.

It doesn't matter what it is, I think there are many things that our pensioners can do. As long as there is something they can contribute to production. There are many people in the country who can think and find this. 

I think the cadres who can make this organisation are mostly in local administrations.

There are many aids and many activities that local governments organise for elderly citizens. 

Free public transport, discounts in social facilities, dinner and chat organisations and many other useful activities are carried out by local governments for our retired people.

However, what I am saying is that our pensioners should do something about the contributions they can make to production.

They should both contribute to production and earn additional income at the same time. 

Those who can afford it can only contribute if they wish, but these activities should also be paid ones, so that our pensioners can get the pleasure of doing something on the one hand, and on the other hand, they can get the monetary reward for their efforts.

In short, they should be involved in something.

Believe me, if all these pensioners could do something, they would do a lot of work! I did the calculation above, 16 million pensioners is not a small labour force.

Please think about this.

My love and respect to everyone from Moscow.