Life at the End of American Empire • Hacker News Board

Re: Life at the End of American Empire

#41

Post by dlivingston » Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 10:56 PM UTC

pessimizer wrote: post #28

kp98 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because America has some of the best healthcare outcomes in the world https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_quality_o...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expe... 35th

As other commenters have pointed out, life expectancy is only one variable in measuring the quality of a healthcare system.

As an example, due to Europe's propensity for biking and walking relative to the US, that certainly has a positive effect on life expectancy.

Another example would be the high caloric diets of many Americans. This exists for historical reasons (see: the history of fried chicken and its relationship to the South) and for economic reasons (those in poverty disproportionately consume cheap and high-calorie diets).

Neither of these are related to the quality or availability of health coverage, but instead, are infrastructure / sociological issues.

Re: Life at the End of American Empire

#42

Post by wostusername » Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 10:58 PM UTC

Apocryphon wrote: post #19

fbonetti wrote: post #15

It’s funny that the author on one hand acknowledges that the government sucks at everything it does, whether it’s education, infrastructure, or health insurance. He also acknowledges that the federal government has a tendency to constantly engage in costly foreign wars regardless of who happens to be in office. Yet his proposed solution is to give the government even more money and even more power.

Thus, ironically, the problem for both the right and the left is the same one- that governments today are too weak . The right needs an at least temporarily strong government to effect the dismantling of the state , whereas the left needs a strong government not merely to respond to the grinding conditions of the economic “recovery”, but to overturn previous policies, put in new protections and find some alternative…

This honestly reads as "working as intended" to me. No side can become the tyrant and get everything it wants and screw the other ~50%.

Re: Life at the End of American Empire

#43

Post by tharne » Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 10:59 PM UTC

ProAm wrote: post #29

fbonetti wrote: post #15

It’s funny that the author on one hand acknowledges that the government sucks at everything it does, whether it’s education, infrastructure, or health insurance. He also acknowledges that the federal government has a tendency to constantly engage in costly foreign wars regardless of who happens to be in office. Yet his proposed solution is to give the government even more money and even more power.

I think a good way to balance or engage better performance out of whoever is in office is to completely rid the federal tax. All people will pay their state tax, and the local/state government will be responsible to provide the federal government money out of the state pool. I think it will drastically change 1) how much the federal government can spend 2) What it gets spent on because the states would much rather ke…

An added benefit of getting rid of federal taxes in favor of state or local taxes is that taxes get less coercive the more decentralized your get.

It's very easy to move from one town to another if you don't like how the local government is running things. It's a hassle, but very possible to move from one state to another. However, moving from the U.S. to another country is incredibly difficult for most people.

Re: Life at the End of American Empire

#44

Post by Apocryphon » Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 11:02 PM UTC

yepguy wrote: post #40

Apocryphon wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thus, ironically, the problem for both the right and the left is the same one- that governments today are too weak . The right needs an at least temporarily strong government to effect the dismantling of the state , whereas the left needs a strong government not merely to respond to the grinding conditions of the economic “recovery”, but to overturn previous policies, put in new protections and find some alternative…

https://conventionofstates.com/

Good luck with that. The system does have the one power to do something- to self-perpetuate in its feckless and corrupt upholding of the status quo. Neither party wants constitutional change that could actually change the system at a fundamental level.

Re: Life at the End of American Empire

#45

Post by tharne » Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 11:04 PM UTC

vearwhershuh wrote: post #3

The author presents a long list of laments (some reasonable, some comically oblivious in that way that only older college professors are capable of) but appears to regret the one thing that will actually improve any of them: the falling of the American Empire.

When one power falls another takes it place. You can be objectively critical of the United States, but if you think the Chinese, Russians, or whomever else may be ascendant 20 years from now is going to "improve things", you're being very naive.

Re: Life at the End of American Empire

#46

Post by naringas » Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 11:04 PM UTC

Apocryphon wrote: post #19

fbonetti wrote: post #15

It’s funny that the author on one hand acknowledges that the government sucks at everything it does, whether it’s education, infrastructure, or health insurance. He also acknowledges that the federal government has a tendency to constantly engage in costly foreign wars regardless of who happens to be in office. Yet his proposed solution is to give the government even more money and even more power.

Thus, ironically, the problem for both the right and the left is the same one- that governments today are too weak . The right needs an at least temporarily strong government to effect the dismantling of the state , whereas the left needs a strong government not merely to respond to the grinding conditions of the economic “recovery”, but to overturn previous policies, put in new protections and find some alternative…

seems to me like subcultural-ideology (frankly puerile and overly simplistic) intended to set-up a more robust (still) unrepresented ideology summed up as "just do what the algoritm/computer system tells you to do". i.e. the super-king they want will speak to them through their phones.

Re: Life at the End of American Empire

#47

Post by _bxg1 » Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 11:04 PM UTC

taylodl wrote: post #16

_bxg1 wrote: post #8

I'm not yet at the point of starting a family, but when the time approaches I'm going to seriously consider other, more functional societies as places to do so.

What's keeping you from considering those other societies now? Why wait until you're starting a family?

It's good enough right now as a healthy, single, affluent working adult. Or at least, it's not bad enough to consider leaving behind family and friends. But if I had to think about a child's future, as well as my own increasing healthcare needs later in life, combined with the fact that the societal problems are only getting worse the longer time goes on, the equation may well work out differently.

Re: Life at the End of American Empire

#48

Post by Apocryphon » Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 11:08 PM UTC

naringas wrote: post #46

Apocryphon wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thus, ironically, the problem for both the right and the left is the same one- that governments today are too weak . The right needs an at least temporarily strong government to effect the dismantling of the state , whereas the left needs a strong government not merely to respond to the grinding conditions of the economic “recovery”, but to overturn previous policies, put in new protections and find some alternative…

seems to me like subcultural-ideology (frankly puerile and overly simplistic) intended to set-up a more robust (still) unrepresented ideology summed up as "just do what the algoritm/computer system tells you to do". i.e. the super-king they want will speak to them through their phones.

Yeah, this article's attempt to explain the Dark Enlightenment subculture is interesting on its own, and deserves its own post. But I also find the author's description of the current problems of the age (and thus gives rise to these radical movements) compelling. It's the same world that the OP is describing.

Re: Life at the End of American Empire

#49

Post by snambi » Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 11:16 PM UTC

Living long doesn't mean living well. Spending more doesn't mean spending well.

Instead of counting the dollars spent, we should begin measuring outcome. May be that will solve the problem.

Re: Life at the End of American Empire

#50

Post by malandrew » Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 11:18 PM UTC

I think one factor that many people underestimate in the decline in any country or empire is the cost of brownfield projects versus greenfield projects.

For example, building a new town/city and its infrastructure is dirt cheap relative to fixing and replacing existing infrastructure. This is not unlike the cost of maintaining software and refactoring it versus writing it in the first place.

With a new greenfield city land, labor is relatively cheap because the cost of living is relatively cheap. There are also no entrenched interests that will engage in legal battles every step of the way. There are also no citizens whose you have to continue to support while you create the new replacement infrastructure and you have none of the complexities of migration from old infrastructure to new infrastructure.

Besides their authoritarian bent, these are some of the many reasons a country like China is getting stuff done while the US and Europe gets relatively little done.