3 ms·

They are going to need to manage that. Japan is overpopulated and too expensive. The right people need to think about new models and processes for population de

They are going to need to manage that. Japan is overpopulated and too expensive. The right people need to think about new models and processes for population decline. Bringing in foreigners is the solution people throw out. Why the hell wouldn't you want to shrink things down and embrace what can be done with that? They need to slow population decline but a decline is good for that country for a little while. Way too many people, too long of lines. They need more leisure time and less stress there.

hga 13y ago
"Why the hell wouldn't you want to shrink things down and embrace what can be done with that?" That's simply not an option for a country with as big a welfare state as Japan's, unless of course they take the Soylent Green approach, which would seem to be at odds with the cultural respect for the elderly, ancestors, etc. (maybe that's changing). Add the government essentially misappropriating the people's wealth to fund decades of extreme fiscal deficits, to the point of 214% of GDP per the CIA and 238% per the IMF (per Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_public_debt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_public_de...) ... as more and more people retire, the money they thought they had in their e.g. Japan Post Bank, they're not going to be able to withdraw it, at least in vaguely similar economic terms. I don't know what the hell they can do, that doesn't involve serious inhuman stuff.
- efng 13y ago
  > serious inhuman stuff. This is one of the reasons they are investing heavily into robotics. That is the inhuman that might save them.
  - hga 13y ago
    I don't see that as being financially viable in the way I was referring to, taking care of the elderly. I was thinking of something more like warehousing them, at best. Their economic system is so broken I'm not sure more robotics would make a qualitative difference in the outcome.

hga 13y ago

"Why the hell wouldn't you want to shrink things down and embrace what can be done with that?" That's simply not an option for a country with as big a welfare state as Japan's, unless of course they take the Soylent Green approach, which would seem to be at odds with the cultural respect for the elderly, ancestors, etc. (maybe that's changing). Add the government essentially misappropriating the people's wealth to fund decades of extreme fiscal deficits, to the point of 214% of GDP per the CIA and 238% per the IMF (per Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_public_debt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_public_de...) ... as more and more people retire, the money they thought they had in their e.g. Japan Post Bank, they're not going to be able to withdraw it, at least in vaguely similar economic terms. I don't know what the hell they can do, that doesn't involve serious inhuman stuff.

efng 13y ago
> serious inhuman stuff. This is one of the reasons they are investing heavily into robotics. That is the inhuman that might save them.
- hga 13y ago
  I don't see that as being financially viable in the way I was referring to, taking care of the elderly. I was thinking of something more like warehousing them, at best. Their economic system is so broken I'm not sure more robotics would make a qualitative difference in the outcome.