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Agreed. Think about the fact that the result of a low birth-rate with better medical tech keeping older people from dying when they otherwise would have. The

by JPKab 5y ago

Agreed. Think about the fact that the result of a low birth-rate with better medical tech keeping older people from dying when they otherwise would have. The result will be a far higher percentage of voters in democracies will be beneficiaries of the work of people younger than them. They will increasingly vote to expand the benefits they receive, at the expense of the younger folks who have to pay higher taxes to fund them. Perhaps one of the most distinct, and deliberately obfuscated, characteristics of COVID is its steep risk stratification by age. According to the US CDC data here: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#demographics https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#demographics Roughly 94% of all COVID deaths were in people age 50 and up. 28.2% of deaths were in people over the age of 85, 7 years past the average US life expectancy (for men). If you look at the response to COVID in western nations, you can see that the cost/benefit analysis wasn't being evaluated in the context of the vast majority of people dying (and therefore benefiting) were past retirement age, and the vast majority of people bearing the cost of these policies were younger, lower risk people who were put out of work. The government programs that used debt-financed payments to alleviate these issues for the young generated debt that, again, will hurt the younger generations far more than the older. Even before covid, the USA has universal health care for people over 65, but not for younger people or kids in working class families who aren't broke enough to qualify for Medicaid. I'm 40, so I'm no spring chicken, but western democracies routinely fuck over young people to help the old. It's going to get far worse until it hits an unsustainable level. I've paid Social Security and Medicare taxes for 25 years, since my first paycheck, and it's not likely I'll ever receive anything from these programs based on current projections.

reducesuffering 5y ago
That won't end until young people actually show up to polls just as significantly. Politicians cater to their voting constituents and the elderly show up to vote stronger. Some of this is due to our suspect "you have this 1 Tuesday to do it" voting day. But what young people can do is make it socially unacceptable to not vote like the elderly do to each other.
- nradov 5y ago
  Most states have some form of early voting, although access can still sometimes be a challenge.
- naravara 5y ago
  Young people don't vote as much partly due to lack of habit, but also due to their jobs having less flexible scheduling and voter registration rolls being tied to where you live. Old people live in places longer, young people move more. It's simply a much bigger paperwork hurdle to get registered, find your polling place, etc. And that's assuming you can take time off and politicians have actually bothered trying to engage you where you're at rather than spending $50 Million on ad time in the evening news.
  - dcist 5y ago
    It's ridiculously easy to vote and with early voting being extended for WEEKS and mail-in voting also an option, there is no excuse other than apathy, ignorance, or laziness. If you can submit a tax return, you can vote.
    - greedo 5y ago
      This is not the case for many voters in the US. Not all states offer early or mail-in voting.
    - volkl48 5y ago
      Where you live, perhaps. Not every state functions that way. My state (NH) has no early voting, and absentee/mail-in voting is only allowed for a few specific reasons. (in 2020, COVID was an acceptable reason, but it is not expected to be in future elections).
  - nomel 5y ago
    I know that when I was young, lack of interest is what kept me from voting, along with most everyone that I knew in the age range. I can't imagine things have changed all that much. I think everyone needs to understand what they're voting for, which requires much more effort than habit, so I'm not sure that's a good goal (unless that understanding is part of the habit, of course, which isn't what I've seen). Looking back, not only did I lack interest, but I was easily swayed by politicians, promising things that would never happen, and news, providing incomplete perspectives and half truths. I was young, living with my parents, and completely lacked perspective on the machine of the world. If I were to go back, I would stop myself from voting that young, because it was completely hollow. From what I've seen, younger people these days don't seem to be much different. Easiest proof being that they're shocked that they're not getting the campaign promises that they voted for.
omegaworks 5y ago
>I've paid Social Security and Medicare taxes for 25 years, since my first paycheck, and it's not likely I'll ever receive anything from these programs based on current projections. This is a purely political decision. When Paul Ryan made this assertion in Congress to justify privatizing the system Alan Greenspan shot him down[1]. The government chooses how many dollars to allocate to Social Security and Medicare. Whether those dollars come from taxes elsewhere is almost entirely irrelevant. The only factor is whether seniors will get enough from the program to buy what they need to live. This has as much to do with the prices of goods as it does with the size of the benefit itself. We will need to ensure we have the production we need to meet the demand by investing in sustainable, productivity amplifying technologies. The reality is with population aging or stagnating we will need one worker to be able to produce what two or more was able to to keep prices stable. I think the pressure to do this is already being felt by workers here in the US. It's one of the main reasons why there is so much apathy from the ruling classes when it comes to ensuring workers can earn a living wage from one job. The people in charge would rather we keep the conditions such that one worker must work three jobs to scrape by than make the costly investments to increase productivity. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNCZHAQnfGU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNCZHAQnfGU

by JPKab 5y ago

reducesuffering 5y ago

That won't end until young people actually show up to polls just as significantly. Politicians cater to their voting constituents and the elderly show up to vote stronger. Some of this is due to our suspect "you have this 1 Tuesday to do it" voting day. But what young people can do is make it socially unacceptable to not vote like the elderly do to each other.

nradov 5y ago
Most states have some form of early voting, although access can still sometimes be a challenge.
naravara 5y ago
Young people don't vote as much partly due to lack of habit, but also due to their jobs having less flexible scheduling and voter registration rolls being tied to where you live. Old people live in places longer, young people move more. It's simply a much bigger paperwork hurdle to get registered, find your polling place, etc. And that's assuming you can take time off and politicians have actually bothered trying to engage you where you're at rather than spending $50 Million on ad time in the evening news.
- dcist 5y ago
  It's ridiculously easy to vote and with early voting being extended for WEEKS and mail-in voting also an option, there is no excuse other than apathy, ignorance, or laziness. If you can submit a tax return, you can vote.
  - greedo 5y ago
    This is not the case for many voters in the US. Not all states offer early or mail-in voting.
  - volkl48 5y ago
    Where you live, perhaps. Not every state functions that way. My state (NH) has no early voting, and absentee/mail-in voting is only allowed for a few specific reasons. (in 2020, COVID was an acceptable reason, but it is not expected to be in future elections).
- nomel 5y ago
  I know that when I was young, lack of interest is what kept me from voting, along with most everyone that I knew in the age range. I can't imagine things have changed all that much. I think everyone needs to understand what they're voting for, which requires much more effort than habit, so I'm not sure that's a good goal (unless that understanding is part of the habit, of course, which isn't what I've seen). Looking back, not only did I lack interest, but I was easily swayed by politicians, promising things that would never happen, and news, providing incomplete perspectives and half truths. I was young, living with my parents, and completely lacked perspective on the machine of the world. If I were to go back, I would stop myself from voting that young, because it was completely hollow. From what I've seen, younger people these days don't seem to be much different. Easiest proof being that they're shocked that they're not getting the campaign promises that they voted for.

omegaworks 5y ago

>I've paid Social Security and Medicare taxes for 25 years, since my first paycheck, and it's not likely I'll ever receive anything from these programs based on current projections. This is a purely political decision. When Paul Ryan made this assertion in Congress to justify privatizing the system Alan Greenspan shot him down[1]. The government chooses how many dollars to allocate to Social Security and Medicare. Whether those dollars come from taxes elsewhere is almost entirely irrelevant. The only factor is whether seniors will get enough from the program to buy what they need to live. This has as much to do with the prices of goods as it does with the size of the benefit itself. We will need to ensure we have the production we need to meet the demand by investing in sustainable, productivity amplifying technologies. The reality is with population aging or stagnating we will need one worker to be able to produce what two or more was able to to keep prices stable. I think the pressure to do this is already being felt by workers here in the US. It's one of the main reasons why there is so much apathy from the ruling classes when it comes to ensuring workers can earn a living wage from one job. The people in charge would rather we keep the conditions such that one worker must work three jobs to scrape by than make the costly investments to increase productivity. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNCZHAQnfGU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNCZHAQnfGU