[ExI] Transhumanism and Politics

[spike]

> Damien Broderick
...
> 
> At 07:16 AM 1/22/2008 -0800, Spike wrote:
> 
> >Life extention technology must be simply a market commodity, 
> otherwise 
> >they will never happen.  Reason: there is no one to pay for it.
> 
> What a strange claim! There is no other threat menacing absolutely
> *everyone* as brutally and terrifyingly as aging and death...

Agreed, but...
 
> If the lunar and space probes programs and weather 
> forecasting could be paid for from the common purse...
> Damien Broderick


My claim is that the common purse will not, and will never pay for life
extension technologies.  In its present form, the common purse is motivated
to recycle us.  It perceives itself as adversely impacted by life extention.
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the common purse goes back in the opposite
direction, by eventually reducing the taxes on a known common killer
tobacco.  

No wait, never mind.  The common purse never rolls back taxes.

The government does not want us to live a long time after we become eligible
for social security.

spike