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> We're in the middle of the longest stretch of world peace in history... But what is the status of military expenses? >There is less poverty (in terms of per

> We're in the middle of the longest stretch of world peace in history... But what is the status of military expenses? >There is less poverty (in terms of percentage of the population) than ever. How much of that is loaned? I mean, aren't more people in perpetual, often unnecessary, debt now? >People are healthier and living longer than ever. And totally dependent on drugs, often from very young, even when they are not necessary. Not to mention obesity, depression...but hey, more drugs, cola and fast food. >And we have Pokemon! It's a golden era. Sure. I see you now. The "awesomeness" you see is very superficial, and is quite possibly short lived. Things are far rotten if you look deep down.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
lisper 10y ago
> what is the status of military expenses? World wide? As a percentage of the size of the world economy? Compared to historical norms? I have no idea. But I'd be surprised if they weren't low. > How much of that is loaned? I'm talking about actual wealth, not bean-counting. There are fewer (again, as a percentage, not in absolute numbers) people without the basic necessities of life than ever before. > totally dependent on drugs Longevity improvements are not due to drugs on which people become dependent. They are due mainly to better nutrition and hygiene, vaccines, and antibiotics. > Sure. I see you now. To be clear, I was joking about the Pokemon. > quite possibly short lived That is certainly true. We can easily squander our good fortune. But one of the ways we can do that is not to recognize our good fortune for what it is: good fortune.
- babyrainbow 10y ago
  > people without the basic necessities of life than ever before... I think this is a bubble. Because where I live, the IT sector has a big influence. Kids straight out of college were making 10 times more money than their parents were making. But they also spend like there is no tomorrow. This spending causes this wealth to be distributed so everyone grow a bit more richer. But this is not sustainable. People are paying huge sum of money for mortgage and credit card bills every month/year. In other words, these people cannot live three months straight without a heafty pay check. The worse part is that, they are not skilled at all, even after years of employment.. >They are due mainly to better nutrition and hygiene, vaccines, and antibiotics. Better nutrition? What provides better nutrition now than the past years? In my country we still get vegetables with dangerous amounts of pesticides. People are starting to have diabetics and choelesrtrol/blood pressure issue in the early thrities. But they won't rollover and die, thanks to perpetual healthcare and medication, I mean, for those who can afford. People everywhere are hooked to antibiotics. "Sneeze? Oh my god, I am having an infection. Let me just gobble down this antibiotics that my doctor prescribed me last time". "Headache? let me just take this new wonder pill for headaches". Yes. People are overstuffed with medicines. You are deluded if you think otherwise. >To be clear, I was joking about the Pokemon. Thank god.
  - lisper 10y ago
    > In my country we still get vegetables with dangerous amounts of pesticides. What country is that? I get the impression you have not traveled much in poor places because "dangerous levels of pesticides" is definitely a first-world problem.
    - babyrainbow 10y ago
      My country is definitely not a first world country... >"dangerous levels of pesticides" is definitely a first-world problem Wow. You seem to have no idea of what you are talking about.
      - lisper 10y ago
        > You seem to have no idea of what you are talking about. Quite possible. So are you going to tell me what country you're talking about, or are you going to continue to be cagey about it?
davidgay 10y ago
> > We're in the middle of the longest stretch of world peace in history... > But what is the status of military expenses? Looks like they've been at historically-low levels for the last 15 years: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS (I seriosuly doubt they were lower in the 40s to 80s, the period before this graph, or in the 10s - maybe the 19th century had really low expenses?) > >There is less poverty (in terms of percentage of the population) than ever. > How much of that is loaned? I mean, aren't more people in perpetual, often unnecessary, debt now? This is clearly a comment about world-wide poverty, not in your neck-of-the-woods, so: http://data.worldbank.org/topic/poverty http://data.worldbank.org/topic/poverty and just in the US, it's somewhat lower: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Number_in_Poverty_and_Poverty_Rate_1959_to_2011._United_States..PNG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States#/... > >People are healthier and living longer than ever. > And totally dependent on drugs, often from very young, even when they are not necessary. Not to mention obesity, depression...but hey, more drugs, cola and fast food. As someone dependent on drugs since a young age, I'm really all for those drugs. My mother had to put up with "oh, it's just psychological", I'll take the drugs instead (this was asthma, FWIW). > >And we have Pokemon! It's a golden era. > Sure. I see you now. > The "awesomeness" you see is very superficial, and is quite possibly short lived. Things are far rotten if you look deep down. My perception: the people who think things are horrible now, and getting worse, have little to no understanding of how life was 50, 100, 1000 years ago.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

lisper 10y ago

> what is the status of military expenses? World wide? As a percentage of the size of the world economy? Compared to historical norms? I have no idea. But I'd be surprised if they weren't low. > How much of that is loaned? I'm talking about actual wealth, not bean-counting. There are fewer (again, as a percentage, not in absolute numbers) people without the basic necessities of life than ever before. > totally dependent on drugs Longevity improvements are not due to drugs on which people become dependent. They are due mainly to better nutrition and hygiene, vaccines, and antibiotics. > Sure. I see you now. To be clear, I was joking about the Pokemon. > quite possibly short lived That is certainly true. We can easily squander our good fortune. But one of the ways we can do that is not to recognize our good fortune for what it is: good fortune.

babyrainbow 10y ago
> people without the basic necessities of life than ever before... I think this is a bubble. Because where I live, the IT sector has a big influence. Kids straight out of college were making 10 times more money than their parents were making. But they also spend like there is no tomorrow. This spending causes this wealth to be distributed so everyone grow a bit more richer. But this is not sustainable. People are paying huge sum of money for mortgage and credit card bills every month/year. In other words, these people cannot live three months straight without a heafty pay check. The worse part is that, they are not skilled at all, even after years of employment.. >They are due mainly to better nutrition and hygiene, vaccines, and antibiotics. Better nutrition? What provides better nutrition now than the past years? In my country we still get vegetables with dangerous amounts of pesticides. People are starting to have diabetics and choelesrtrol/blood pressure issue in the early thrities. But they won't rollover and die, thanks to perpetual healthcare and medication, I mean, for those who can afford. People everywhere are hooked to antibiotics. "Sneeze? Oh my god, I am having an infection. Let me just gobble down this antibiotics that my doctor prescribed me last time". "Headache? let me just take this new wonder pill for headaches". Yes. People are overstuffed with medicines. You are deluded if you think otherwise. >To be clear, I was joking about the Pokemon. Thank god.
- lisper 10y ago
  > In my country we still get vegetables with dangerous amounts of pesticides. What country is that? I get the impression you have not traveled much in poor places because "dangerous levels of pesticides" is definitely a first-world problem.
  - babyrainbow 10y ago
    My country is definitely not a first world country... >"dangerous levels of pesticides" is definitely a first-world problem Wow. You seem to have no idea of what you are talking about.
    - lisper 10y ago
      > You seem to have no idea of what you are talking about. Quite possible. So are you going to tell me what country you're talking about, or are you going to continue to be cagey about it?

davidgay 10y ago

> > We're in the middle of the longest stretch of world peace in history... > But what is the status of military expenses? Looks like they've been at historically-low levels for the last 15 years: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS (I seriosuly doubt they were lower in the 40s to 80s, the period before this graph, or in the 10s - maybe the 19th century had really low expenses?) > >There is less poverty (in terms of percentage of the population) than ever. > How much of that is loaned? I mean, aren't more people in perpetual, often unnecessary, debt now? This is clearly a comment about world-wide poverty, not in your neck-of-the-woods, so: http://data.worldbank.org/topic/poverty http://data.worldbank.org/topic/poverty and just in the US, it's somewhat lower: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Number_in_Poverty_and_Poverty_Rate_1959_to_2011._United_States..PNG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States#/... > >People are healthier and living longer than ever. > And totally dependent on drugs, often from very young, even when they are not necessary. Not to mention obesity, depression...but hey, more drugs, cola and fast food. As someone dependent on drugs since a young age, I'm really all for those drugs. My mother had to put up with "oh, it's just psychological", I'll take the drugs instead (this was asthma, FWIW). > >And we have Pokemon! It's a golden era. > Sure. I see you now. > The "awesomeness" you see is very superficial, and is quite possibly short lived. Things are far rotten if you look deep down. My perception: the people who think things are horrible now, and getting worse, have little to no understanding of how life was 50, 100, 1000 years ago.