The office of Joe Biden has been struggling to dismiss reports that the Vice President is approving of China’s ‘One-child’ policy. The reports are based on comments that the Vice President made while he was addressing a large crowd while visiting China.
While attempting to explain that China has a forthcoming entitlement crisis because of its enforcement of the rule of ‘One-child’ per family, he made, according to some, statements supporting the policy. According to the official transcript of the event, the Vice President’s words were: “Your policy has been one which I fully understand — I’m not second-guessing — of one child per family, the result being that you’re in a position where one wage earner will be taking care of four retired people. Not sustainable.”
Apparently, Biden was trying to explain that the drastically falling rate of population growth will lead to problems in the coming years when fewer young people are trying to take care of many older people. Fewer people working will mean less money supporting retirees. However, in commenting that he was “not second-guessing” the country’s policy, he became the subject of criticism back in the United States.
His comments were quickly slammed by conservative groups and Republican presidential candidates alike. Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts and a leading candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, questioned how Biden could give a pass to China’s policy which he called “gruesome and barbaric”. Texas Governor Rick Perry, said in a statement, “Vice President Biden’s refusal to ‘second-guess’ this horrendous policy demonstrates great moral indifference on the part of the Obama administration,”
The Vice President’s office has released statements saying that Biden was attempting to bring to light the unintended reults of the country’s policy and not to give approval of it.