[extropy-chat] Europe vs America (was Depressing thought....)

[Samantha Atkins]

On Wed, 12 Nov 2003 22:54:20 +0000
BillK <bill at wkidston.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

> On Wed Nov 12, 2003 01:43 pm Samantha Atkins wrote:
> < I see very much the point of enabling those born to poorer
> < circumstances a chance to develop, progress and participate fully. But
> < I am not sure I see the point of forced carrying of dead weight
> < indefinitely and with the individuals in that category able to vote
> < themselves continued increases in largesse and often standing
> < continually in the way of actual human advancement.
> 
> < What "whole day"? In France the law says, if they haven't changed it
> < again, that it is only legal to work 35 hours a week. Subsistence
> < should not be too hard to come by in a reasonably affluent society.
> < But we must beware of breeding too large a burden on our societies.
> < Germany is even now struggling to lower its mounting social debts
> < also. Historically there have been cycles of charity, self-insurance,
> < poor laws, increasing welfare states, large defictis, cuts of
> < benefits. It is not a new problem.
> <
> 
> Sorry Samantha, but it really IS a new problem.
> Lack of breeding is the new problem. The western societies are facing a
> rapidly aging population problem. Who's going to look after all the old
> folk? They are not scroungers, they have worked all their lives, but
> there are just not enough young folk paying taxes to look after them.
> 

Hmmm.  Looks like you switched focus from the poor in general to the elderly.  If we hadn't been systematically robbing workers for much of their lives to supposedly take care of them in their old age and being terrible managers of the money (we as government here), then there would not have been so huge a  problem.  But of course we are where we are.  I suggest the following:

a) Put a cap for how many years into the future various packages like social security in the US pay out;

b) privatize retirement savings plans slowly to be completely private by the above cut off;

c) cut taxes across the board so many more people could afford to take care of their older relatives and/or give significant tax breaks for such care;

d) keep just enough additional programs to make up any difference temporarily;

e) work like mad for medical nanotech, anti-aging therapies and so on so that a generation hence old does not mean infirm.

> Japan is desperately trying to build robots to look after the old people
> and that solution may just arrive in time.
>

If anything is like to be human intensive it is caring for human beings.  I wish them lots of luck BUT...
 
- samantha