4 ms·
You miss the point in your second paragraph. If anti-aging research succeeds the way its proponents want it to, old people won't need to retire, they'll be heal
by sho 17y ago
You miss the point in your second paragraph. If anti-aging research succeeds the way its proponents want it to, old people won't need to retire, they'll be healthy as ever.
The first paragraph .. well, we'll just have to do better with resources, won't we. We need Fusion, basically. And the 3rd world always has population problems. They will have to sort them out themselves. Most developed countries are going backwards in population, so it's not a problem there, assuming we can solve the resources issue.
- anigbrowl 17y agoI think you are a bit naive to assume that the invigorated elderly will forgo any benefits already coming their way, or cheerfully waive them. If anything, I see them exerting a tighter grip on financial and political capital, to the detriment of their generational successors; some would argue that this is already happening. Of course you are correct about the importance of fusion, but I'm not sure of a free lunch there either.
- sho 17y agoIf the government can't afford it, and of course it can't afford to pay pensions to perfectly healthy people for a hundred years, then they won't have a choice. Anyway, I think society would change. The stigma that comes with a perfectly able young man sitting on unemployment benefits would also be applied to the able 90-year-old collecting benefits while playing golf. Assuming, that is, they could stand the pathetic trickle of cash pensions are, compared to their worth on the job market - and quite a wealth it could very well be. Anyway, don't people like working?
- mgcross 17y agoAgreed about not needing to retire - I'm 40 now and can't comprehend when or why I'd retire as long as I can sit at a desk (or lay in a bed) and pound out markup or code. Maybe only to focus on my own projects or stop dealing with clients.