2 ms·

Biden, Trump, Schumer, Feinstein, McConnel say: "What's that, sonny? Ask me again after my afternoon nap." ---- Anyway, the article's author seems to be quite

Biden, Trump, Schumer, Feinstein, McConnel say: "What's that, sonny? Ask me again after my afternoon nap." ---- Anyway, the article's author seems to be quite the hard-line capitalist: > "The only plausible way to keep public pensions solvent... is for retirement ages to rise as life expectancy does." So, even though society's productive capacity is incredibly high, having risen and risen over two centuries of industrialization and mechanization - supposedly the problem is that older people are slacking off. This is (mostly) false. Most of the basic material wants we face today are artificial. That is, people don't starve because there's not enough food, they aren't homeless because there are not enough houses and apartments, they are not left untreated for medical conditions for lack of doctors and nurses etc. That's not to say that there are never shortages of materials or of trained professionals; but what the author is essentially saying is that working people need to shed blood, sweat, and tears more so that the insufficient share of the fruit of their labor, that actually goes back to them (= us), becomes sufficient. This is not dissimilar from a feudal lord, who takes most produce as tax, telling his tenant farmer that if he wants to have enough to feed his children, he should get some of them to also work the fields so that there's enough to go around.

JuniperMesos 4mo ago
> That is, people don't starve because there's not enough food, they aren't homeless because there are not enough houses and apartments, they are not left untreated for medical conditions for lack of doctors and nurses etc. People don't actually starve today, because food scarcity is now a problem humanity has almost-entirely solved (the exceptions are war-torn parts of sub-Saharan Africa, not anywhere in a developed country). But there are many people who are homeless who would be if housing costs were somewhat cheaper because the housing supply was bigger; and there are many people who don't get enough medical attention because the time of doctors and nurses is scarce and therefore expensive - this is why there's so much interest in using AI for medical questions and examinations.
- constantius 4mo ago
  People do starve today, in every developed country. It's rare to die of starvation, but poverty still means skipping meals. Housing supply is scarce because of regulatory capture: homeowners and real estate companies have the strongest incentives and massive resources to keep it that way. Medical attention is scarce because of regulatory capture by those doing those jobs: the numerus clausus is still a thing, and not in any way defensible. The parent is right: scarcity today, especially in developed countries, is completely artificial, because it serves those who benefit from it.
- einpoklum 4mo ago
  > People don't actually starve today Indeed, people rarely die of starvation outright (although some do: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/starvation-deaths-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/starvatio... ) but - starvation is very much a problem, and malnourishment and food insecurity are very serious problems in many countries. Here's a map: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/malnutrition-rate-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/malnutrit... and while it is a specific example, I must mention the situation in *Gaza*, where 2.3 Million people (now 2.2 Million or so after Israel's mass killing) are being subjected to a regime which moves between severe malnourishment and starvation, and have been in this situation for over two years. (Before that, the siege subjected them to 'non-severe' malnourishment). The main culprits are Israel, Egypt and the US. The reason I had to mention that is that I live in Haifa and this one is partially my responsibility as an Israeli citizen.
TheOtherHobbes 4mo ago
It's The Economist promoting the party line, as usual. "The economy is precarious and someone has to pay for that. This is a you problem. Don't look at us. Nothing to do with decades of neoliberal piracy."

JuniperMesos 4mo ago

> That is, people don't starve because there's not enough food, they aren't homeless because there are not enough houses and apartments, they are not left untreated for medical conditions for lack of doctors and nurses etc. People don't actually starve today, because food scarcity is now a problem humanity has almost-entirely solved (the exceptions are war-torn parts of sub-Saharan Africa, not anywhere in a developed country). But there are many people who are homeless who would be if housing costs were somewhat cheaper because the housing supply was bigger; and there are many people who don't get enough medical attention because the time of doctors and nurses is scarce and therefore expensive - this is why there's so much interest in using AI for medical questions and examinations.

constantius 4mo ago
People do starve today, in every developed country. It's rare to die of starvation, but poverty still means skipping meals. Housing supply is scarce because of regulatory capture: homeowners and real estate companies have the strongest incentives and massive resources to keep it that way. Medical attention is scarce because of regulatory capture by those doing those jobs: the numerus clausus is still a thing, and not in any way defensible. The parent is right: scarcity today, especially in developed countries, is completely artificial, because it serves those who benefit from it.
einpoklum 4mo ago
> People don't actually starve today Indeed, people rarely die of starvation outright (although some do: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/starvation-deaths-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/starvatio... ) but - starvation is very much a problem, and malnourishment and food insecurity are very serious problems in many countries. Here's a map: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/malnutrition-rate-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/malnutrit... and while it is a specific example, I must mention the situation in *Gaza*, where 2.3 Million people (now 2.2 Million or so after Israel's mass killing) are being subjected to a regime which moves between severe malnourishment and starvation, and have been in this situation for over two years. (Before that, the siege subjected them to 'non-severe' malnourishment). The main culprits are Israel, Egypt and the US. The reason I had to mention that is that I live in Haifa and this one is partially my responsibility as an Israeli citizen.

TheOtherHobbes 4mo ago

It's The Economist promoting the party line, as usual. "The economy is precarious and someone has to pay for that. This is a you problem. Don't look at us. Nothing to do with decades of neoliberal piracy."