3 ms·

Tax burden is somewhat tangential to real root of the problem on working people. The deeper problem is that pushing so many resources towards old, retired peop

Tax burden is somewhat tangential to real root of the problem on working people. The deeper problem is that pushing so many resources towards old, retired people means that a huge chunk of the economy and jobs are forced to orient towards elder care. To be darkly blunt, elder care is a deeply depressing kind of work, especially when it's for strangers rather than family. A society with an increasing percentage of the population as old people who don't do anything interesting is an increasingly depressing society for young people to live in. It really seems like a downward death spiral.

scarface_74 3y ago
And this is why most cultures have multigenerational housing. Yes it’s worse for economic growth and mobility.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
lapcat 3y ago
> A society with an increasing percentage of the population as old people who don't do anything interesting is an increasingly depressing society for young people to live in. It doesn't have to be this way, and the "solution" isn't a baby boom or Logan's Run. There are a lot of older people who are capable of working, but society presents many barriers to this: 1. Age discrimination; 2. Employers overworking employees; 3. Lack of flexibility in working conditions (part-time, work-from-home, etc.); 4. Lack of educational and job training resources for older people Society tends to push the majority of people toward retirement, both because it wants older people out of the workforce and also because working life tends to suck for the workers (hence the desire to retire ASAP). But a lot of retirees are actually bored and would welcome becoming useful again, if society provided better opportunities for them. Instead of "work hard until you retire", we could all perhaps "work easy until you die". Older people are forced to make the choice between working hard and retiring, but younger people are presented with similarly bad choices, for example, working hard or spending time raising your children.
jewayne 3y ago
Would it make you happy to know that our life expectancy has been going DOWN since before the pandemic?
- anonporridge 3y ago
  Life expectancy is a broke metric. Healthspan is woke. Living decades longer in a state of in incapacity and pain in a nursing home, lucky if anyone cares to visit once a year, is hell on earth.
  - SoftTalker 3y ago
    Yeah I think Einstein had it figured out.
- delfinom 3y ago
  Life expectancy decreasing to the younger of society offing themselves with drug overdoses....

scarface_74 3y ago

And this is why most cultures have multigenerational housing. Yes it’s worse for economic growth and mobility.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

lapcat 3y ago

> A society with an increasing percentage of the population as old people who don't do anything interesting is an increasingly depressing society for young people to live in. It doesn't have to be this way, and the "solution" isn't a baby boom or Logan's Run. There are a lot of older people who are capable of working, but society presents many barriers to this: 1. Age discrimination; 2. Employers overworking employees; 3. Lack of flexibility in working conditions (part-time, work-from-home, etc.); 4. Lack of educational and job training resources for older people Society tends to push the majority of people toward retirement, both because it wants older people out of the workforce and also because working life tends to suck for the workers (hence the desire to retire ASAP). But a lot of retirees are actually bored and would welcome becoming useful again, if society provided better opportunities for them. Instead of "work hard until you retire", we could all perhaps "work easy until you die". Older people are forced to make the choice between working hard and retiring, but younger people are presented with similarly bad choices, for example, working hard or spending time raising your children.

jewayne 3y ago

Would it make you happy to know that our life expectancy has been going DOWN since before the pandemic?

anonporridge 3y ago
Life expectancy is a broke metric. Healthspan is woke. Living decades longer in a state of in incapacity and pain in a nursing home, lucky if anyone cares to visit once a year, is hell on earth.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  Yeah I think Einstein had it figured out.
delfinom 3y ago
Life expectancy decreasing to the younger of society offing themselves with drug overdoses....