4 ms·

Agree that we need to lower the population but this is best done gradually. A sharp demographic shift cause a lot of instability and problems. With too dramati

Agree that we need to lower the population but this is best done gradually. A sharp demographic shift cause a lot of instability and problems. With too dramatic shift you can’t take care of old people anymore. People will reject essentially murdering old people to save the environment. I think birt rates around 1.8 - 1.9 is probably a sensible rate. That will cause a gradual decline. 1.2-1.3 is way too low and will cause a lot of problems.

schiffern 8y ago
> People will reject essentially murdering old people Troublingly, the crisis in U.S. healthcare suggests otherwise. We're currently murdering old people not for the survival of the species and/or civilization, but to increase healthcare and insurance industry profits. Recent U.S. politics has shown that exterminating the elderly/sick/poor/dissenting is essentially a marketing problem. Don't call them "old people," call them "welfare queens." Convince people that it will only ever happen to someone else (immigrants, people with different skin color and/or ideology than you, "poor people" who deserve what's coming to them -- quite unlike temporarily embarrassed millionaires like yourself, etc). Yessir, market your mass-murder correctly and people will think it's "business as usual."
- toasterlovin 8y ago
  As a counterpoint, we need to come to grips with the fact that we, as a society, cannot afford to pay several hundred thousand to multiple millions of dollars in healthcare costs at the end of most people’s lives.
  - techdragon 8y ago
    You know, the USA is at the extreme end in this respect, in most other countries it doesn’t cost that much to provide healthcare.
    - BuckRogers 8y ago
      Declare health insurance a mandatory nonprofit industry. Truly nonprofit. I view education the same way, and suggest stripping it down to just what's necessary to learn. Room, professor, chairs, chalk board, light bulb, books. Student brings pencils and paper. Adminstration should be streamlined by combining university systems. Costs should be low for the state and the only thing a student needs to provide are good test scores on entrance exams. Basically austerity for health insurance middlemen and schools but no charge for education or healthcare. For example, I see a big push to air condition schools and I'm left unsure how my generation (Xennial) even survived. Not only my schools but my home never had air conditioning either. These things are not necessities. Neither are health insurance profits.
  - schiffern 8y ago
    > we, as a society, cannot afford to pay ...because the giga-rich stole from us. Let's not couch their actions in the passive voice, or pretend this situation just happened somehow. The "neoliberal" (ie not new or liberal) takeover of America was orchestrated by the rich for their own benefit, and almost 40 years later we're still suffering the effects: stagnant wages, rising profits, and ever-increasing wealth inequality. There is indisputably enough of wealth for everyone on Earth to die with dignity. The problem is distribution, not quantity. > several hundred thousand to multiple millions of dollars in healthcare costs Healthcare price, not cost. The underlying cost is quite affordable. The price is not because the insurancestudent debt/pharmaceutical/healthcare industries extort obscene profits (and taxpayer subsidies!) by leaching off a life critical, non-negotiable service. See above.

schiffern 8y ago

> People will reject essentially murdering old people Troublingly, the crisis in U.S. healthcare suggests otherwise. We're currently murdering old people not for the survival of the species and/or civilization, but to increase healthcare and insurance industry profits. Recent U.S. politics has shown that exterminating the elderly/sick/poor/dissenting is essentially a marketing problem. Don't call them "old people," call them "welfare queens." Convince people that it will only ever happen to someone else (immigrants, people with different skin color and/or ideology than you, "poor people" who deserve what's coming to them -- quite unlike temporarily embarrassed millionaires like yourself, etc). Yessir, market your mass-murder correctly and people will think it's "business as usual."

toasterlovin 8y ago
As a counterpoint, we need to come to grips with the fact that we, as a society, cannot afford to pay several hundred thousand to multiple millions of dollars in healthcare costs at the end of most people’s lives.
- techdragon 8y ago
  You know, the USA is at the extreme end in this respect, in most other countries it doesn’t cost that much to provide healthcare.
  - BuckRogers 8y ago
    Declare health insurance a mandatory nonprofit industry. Truly nonprofit. I view education the same way, and suggest stripping it down to just what's necessary to learn. Room, professor, chairs, chalk board, light bulb, books. Student brings pencils and paper. Adminstration should be streamlined by combining university systems. Costs should be low for the state and the only thing a student needs to provide are good test scores on entrance exams. Basically austerity for health insurance middlemen and schools but no charge for education or healthcare. For example, I see a big push to air condition schools and I'm left unsure how my generation (Xennial) even survived. Not only my schools but my home never had air conditioning either. These things are not necessities. Neither are health insurance profits.
- schiffern 8y ago
  > we, as a society, cannot afford to pay ...because the giga-rich stole from us. Let's not couch their actions in the passive voice, or pretend this situation just happened somehow. The "neoliberal" (ie not new or liberal) takeover of America was orchestrated by the rich for their own benefit, and almost 40 years later we're still suffering the effects: stagnant wages, rising profits, and ever-increasing wealth inequality. There is indisputably enough of wealth for everyone on Earth to die with dignity. The problem is distribution, not quantity. > several hundred thousand to multiple millions of dollars in healthcare costs Healthcare price, not cost. The underlying cost is quite affordable. The price is not because the insurancestudent debt/pharmaceutical/healthcare industries extort obscene profits (and taxpayer subsidies!) by leaching off a life critical, non-negotiable service. See above.