8 ms·

Sometimes I have to step back and note the whiplash of future predicted problems. When I was a kid, it was overpopulation. Then it became overpopulation combin

by kgin 5y ago

Sometimes I have to step back and note the whiplash of future predicted problems. When I was a kid, it was overpopulation. Then it became overpopulation combined with the prospect of automation taking all of our jobs. Now, very suddenly as it seems to me, we’re talking about declining population and a labor shortage.

lotsofpulp 5y ago
Depends what you are talking about. If the topic is pollution or climate change, then total energy consumption is the problem, which inevitably leads to overpopulation being the problem. If the topic is how much of society’s resources should be allocated to maintaining quality of life for those who cannot by themselves, perhaps due to old age, then a labor “shortage” will be the problem. More accurately, it is about which proportion of society’s resources should go towards supporting those who need assistance, changes which show up as changes in prices for labor. I am not too fond of the idea of using society’s resources to keep people of very advanced age living longer and longer with poor quality of life. This rationing of resources will exacerbate due to reduced birth rates compared to previous decades, in conjunction with increasing lifespans and medical interventions.
- galfarragem 5y ago
  > I am not too fond of the idea of using society’s resources to keep people of very advanced age living longer and longer with poor quality of life. Completely agree with you. The "Trillion dollar question" is what to do and how to do it, once a "solution" is not enough, "democracies" have to find ways to enforce it. Edit: Euthanasia is a solution that is starting to be sold by some politicians. I wonder if people really understand what's behind it.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    Assisted suicide. My grandpa lost his last kidney at 95 and was then picked up and dropped off for dialysis 3 times a week in the early 2000s. For a few years this went on, must have been tens of thousands of dollars or even $100k+ of labor and medical services, in those days. Paid for by future taxpayers. He should have been given an option to go peacefully.
    - SyzygistSix 5y ago
      Yeah, I'm taking that option regardless. I have friends who feel the same way. We'll do what needs to be done when the time comes. I've been a firm believer in better living through chemistry. Good ol chemistry will come in handy once again when it's time to die.

by kgin 5y ago

lotsofpulp 5y ago

Depends what you are talking about. If the topic is pollution or climate change, then total energy consumption is the problem, which inevitably leads to overpopulation being the problem. If the topic is how much of society’s resources should be allocated to maintaining quality of life for those who cannot by themselves, perhaps due to old age, then a labor “shortage” will be the problem. More accurately, it is about which proportion of society’s resources should go towards supporting those who need assistance, changes which show up as changes in prices for labor. I am not too fond of the idea of using society’s resources to keep people of very advanced age living longer and longer with poor quality of life. This rationing of resources will exacerbate due to reduced birth rates compared to previous decades, in conjunction with increasing lifespans and medical interventions.

galfarragem 5y ago
> I am not too fond of the idea of using society’s resources to keep people of very advanced age living longer and longer with poor quality of life. Completely agree with you. The "Trillion dollar question" is what to do and how to do it, once a "solution" is not enough, "democracies" have to find ways to enforce it. Edit: Euthanasia is a solution that is starting to be sold by some politicians. I wonder if people really understand what's behind it.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  Assisted suicide. My grandpa lost his last kidney at 95 and was then picked up and dropped off for dialysis 3 times a week in the early 2000s. For a few years this went on, must have been tens of thousands of dollars or even $100k+ of labor and medical services, in those days. Paid for by future taxpayers. He should have been given an option to go peacefully.
  - SyzygistSix 5y ago
    Yeah, I'm taking that option regardless. I have friends who feel the same way. We'll do what needs to be done when the time comes. I've been a firm believer in better living through chemistry. Good ol chemistry will come in handy once again when it's time to die.