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I hate myself for saying this but if one wants a cold calculous thought experiment, what about thinking about the mortality age? mostly older people, not only d

I hate myself for saying this but if one wants a cold calculous thought experiment, what about thinking about the mortality age? mostly older people, not only don't work but are also often a net burden to society.

llampx 7y ago
Yes we've already extracted all the value we could extract from them. Better get rid of the useless husks asap. Do you realize how that sounds?
- AlgorithmicTime 7y ago
  Of course he realizes how that sounds, that's why he prepended "I hate myself for saying this" rather than just saying the cold facts un-prepended.
- bobbylarrybobby 7y ago
  If we’re gonna talk about the economic value of individuals to society, it makes sense to evaluate that value correctly. The premise of the discussion was that a life has finite value to society.
deleted 7y ago
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thrownaway954 7y ago
don't hate yourself. china is facing a huge economic epidemic from the elderly and although noone wants to be "that guy" this virus outbreak could actually be a good thing for them and the rest of the world to curb the elderly population. https://time.com/5523805/china-aging-population-working-age/ https://time.com/5523805/china-aging-population-working-age/
anewguy9000 7y ago
its a hard but fair and valid moral question
SkyPuncher 7y ago
This is a misguided thought. Older people are more affected by SARS-2, but they are also more affected by nearly every disease. It comes with age. Another huge factor is we're very, very early in this crisis. On average, it takes longer for younger, stronger people to succumb to their symptoms. Even if death is not a common outcome for young people, there are concerns of long term lung and organ damage. Not to mention if you have a bad case, it literally feels like you're suffocating. Data I've seen from Italy and China showed two important factors: * 41% of people in China's ICU's were under 50 * Italy's average death age from COVID-19 has been dropping. I'd expected this trend until we're about 4 to 6 weeks into this being widespread in Italy (currently 2 or 3 at the moment).
topkai22 7y ago
Its already in the model- 10 quality adjusted years of life. You could reasonable drive that down, but not to less than 3 I'm pretty sure. I don't think it's appropriate to model current output though. This is a social / political question as much as a economic one. I mostly view retirees as "paid up" members of society and, since I'd like my kids and grandkids to think this way when I'm old be not feeble, believe they should be treated as full members of society.
- dillondoyle 7y ago
  Does the model include costs too - not just earnings potential? like social security? To be clear I am 100% with your priorities just think it's an interesting - albeit totally inhumane - thought experiment.

llampx 7y ago

Yes we've already extracted all the value we could extract from them. Better get rid of the useless husks asap. Do you realize how that sounds?

AlgorithmicTime 7y ago
Of course he realizes how that sounds, that's why he prepended "I hate myself for saying this" rather than just saying the cold facts un-prepended.
bobbylarrybobby 7y ago
If we’re gonna talk about the economic value of individuals to society, it makes sense to evaluate that value correctly. The premise of the discussion was that a life has finite value to society.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

thrownaway954 7y ago

don't hate yourself. china is facing a huge economic epidemic from the elderly and although noone wants to be "that guy" this virus outbreak could actually be a good thing for them and the rest of the world to curb the elderly population. https://time.com/5523805/china-aging-population-working-age/ https://time.com/5523805/china-aging-population-working-age/

anewguy9000 7y ago

its a hard but fair and valid moral question

SkyPuncher 7y ago

This is a misguided thought. Older people are more affected by SARS-2, but they are also more affected by nearly every disease. It comes with age. Another huge factor is we're very, very early in this crisis. On average, it takes longer for younger, stronger people to succumb to their symptoms. Even if death is not a common outcome for young people, there are concerns of long term lung and organ damage. Not to mention if you have a bad case, it literally feels like you're suffocating. Data I've seen from Italy and China showed two important factors: * 41% of people in China's ICU's were under 50 * Italy's average death age from COVID-19 has been dropping. I'd expected this trend until we're about 4 to 6 weeks into this being widespread in Italy (currently 2 or 3 at the moment).

topkai22 7y ago

Its already in the model- 10 quality adjusted years of life. You could reasonable drive that down, but not to less than 3 I'm pretty sure. I don't think it's appropriate to model current output though. This is a social / political question as much as a economic one. I mostly view retirees as "paid up" members of society and, since I'd like my kids and grandkids to think this way when I'm old be not feeble, believe they should be treated as full members of society.

dillondoyle 7y ago
Does the model include costs too - not just earnings potential? like social security? To be clear I am 100% with your priorities just think it's an interesting - albeit totally inhumane - thought experiment.