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Japan’s lost generation is still jobless and living with their parents

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Re: Japan’s lost generation is still jobless and living with their parents

#171

Post by mc32 »

saagarjha wrote: post #137
maerF0x0 wrote: post #127

I feel like the "Jobless and living with parents" pejorative is missing the mark. Jobless -- So what? If a country has figured out how to provide for its people w/o jobs, so what? For example if we had perfect AI-robot slaves we'd all be jobless. Would it be a problem? Maybe we should ask people why they want a job, maybe what they want to do doesnt require one? "Living with their parents" - Again, so what? Much of t…

That's because the scenario you've mentioned does not describe these households. The problem here is that there are adults who are partially or wholly supported by their parents in a house where they are not living with (nor was it designed for them to live with) a spouse or children.

And what happens when their parents die and they cannot provide for themselves housing?

Re: Japan’s lost generation is still jobless and living with their parents

#172

Post by hinkley »

Saint_Genet wrote: post #49

I went to university in the same city I grew up in, and made the mistake of living with my with my parents for the first two years. Let me tell you, you don't really become an adult until you move out.

I went to a high school commencement shortly before I graduated college and the speeches were all about how high school prepared them for life and I kept thinking, "buddy/lady, talk to me again after you forget a load of laundry in the washing machine"

My friend wants her kids to stay in town. I've been reminding the kids there are several good college options less than 90 minutes away, which means if you really get into trouble your parents can bail you out, but you still get to figure your life out.

Re: Japan’s lost generation is still jobless and living with their parents

#173

Post by 01100011 »

asdasdasdas5453 wrote: post #42
brazzy wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not how economy works. There is no such thing in general as "too many people for the economy". "The economy" is the sum of goods and services produced and consumed. Everyone who lives consumes, and could easily consume more. The economy is generally limited by the ability to produce, and is generally limited by the number of working-age people to do the producing. Unemployment can be result of production being…

On HN when people discuss CS/privacy/programming the conversation is very thorough and interesting. When the discussion is about economics (the topic I have studied at uni) most comments are just plain wrong and show a complete ignorance about the topic. If one wants a counter argument to "too many people for the economy" one can start here : https://www.jstor.org/stable/2523702?seq=1 "Using data from the Current Pop…

> most comments are just plain wrong and show a complete ignorance about the topic.

This seems to be a problem inherent to many such forums on the internet. When the discussion is controlled by a certain subset of that population, usually via comments, submissions and voting, that subset tends to self-select and alienate alternative viewpoints. Participants are rewarded with a sense of validation for things that appeal to the group but aren't necessarily true or accurate(or humane, fair, respectful, etc).

I think this topic needs a whole lot more analysis and public debate as more and more opinions are solidified in these balkanized communities. I quit reddit over these issues and am hanging on to HN by a thread. At this point I'd rather pay to hear opinions and analysis of experts than be influenced by, and participate in, internet echo chambers.

Re: Japan’s lost generation is still jobless and living with their parents

#174

Post by offtop5 »

ravenstine wrote: post #151
offtop5 wrote: post #130

>Under Katsube’s direction, Junko also enrolled in a program that helps shut-ins learn social skills by engaging in activities such as gardening, music, sports, and volunteering. America desperately needs this. I fear the rise of social media has caused more and more people to stay inside all day without interacting with any real humans. I've found Meetup to work very well for getting out of the house. I did find it…

> I've found Meetup to work very well for getting out of the house. Except a lot of the meetups where I live either haven't come back or they are "virtual". :(

I was thinking before Corona, last year was very good for me.

Once you realize social media is mostly fake validation seeking behavior you can decide if that's what you want . Ends up being tons of stress and mental anguish for nothing at all. I'll say without a doubt people are absolutely meaner via social media vs real life. I recall when I lived in Chicago how everyone in certain areas knew each other. Act like a jerk and word travels fast. Thus this keeps people friendly. On Reddit, which I had to step back from , it take 10 seconds to create a username. Then you can throw out all types of vitriol at people you'll never meet. Why be apart of that ? I do find Reddit to be very helpful if you have a specific technical question, but the moment you venture out of tech people get really nasty really fast. I'm still debating if it's worth returning to.

It's at the point where I might hire someone to run the social media accounts for a product I may be releasing. I have absolutely no interest in using social media myself.

I have a sort of live now list for once Corona ends

Re: Japan’s lost generation is still jobless and living with their parents

#175

Post by maerF0x0 »

alxlaz wrote: post #159
maerF0x0 wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Again. We're failing to address the "so what?" What does this scenario represent that is _the actual problem_ of the matter?

> What does this scenario represent that is _the actual problem_ of the matter? Among others: - Crippling depression for many of those who are jobless and living with their parents in a culture that is not exactly friendly to them. - An increased incidence of health issues that are correlated with depression and loneliness. - Decreased quality of life for elderly parents who need to support their children within the…

> Crippling depression

I wonder how much of this is due to societal pressure vs actualization ?

If the world's message is "you should feel bad because X" it seems unlikely to me that people would feel good about X.

Having a job is a second order attempt to solve many of these things rather than solving the root issues. A job is a technology for solving an issue, I think it's time for a better technology.

Re: Japan’s lost generation is still jobless and living with their parents

#176

Post by rexpop »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #127

I feel like the "Jobless and living with parents" pejorative is missing the mark. Jobless -- So what? If a country has figured out how to provide for its people w/o jobs, so what? For example if we had perfect AI-robot slaves we'd all be jobless. Would it be a problem? Maybe we should ask people why they want a job, maybe what they want to do doesnt require one? "Living with their parents" - Again, so what? Much of t…

I agree. These terms are common, euphemistic allusions to other problems. They should state plainly the issue: lack of buying power, economic leverage among the working class, lack of choice, and inadequately available housing. These are of what we're actually suffering.

Re: Japan’s lost generation is still jobless and living with their parents

#177

Post by cryptica »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #64
mathattack wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their population will drop. Each couple only has something like 1.2 kids. Lack of people to pay down their debts will be the long term problem.

Most of the debt is held by the Japanese themselves. They control their own currency. It isn't likely to be a problem for them.

It is going to be a problem because in an inflationary monetary system, you need to give out loans at a constantly increasing rate in order to pay off the debt of the previous generation. If the new generation is not growing fast enough, they will not be able to afford to take out enough new debt to buy assets from the previous generation (thus allowing the previous generation to pay of their debts from the sale or lease of real estate), then prices could crash quickly when the previous generation starts defaulting on their loans.

It's also why real estate prices are so high in Japan. The older generation needs to squeeze out as much as they can from each member of the younger generation since there are so few of them in numbers.

Re: Japan’s lost generation is still jobless and living with their parents

#179

Post by pembrook »

alexashka wrote: post #143
growlist wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why Western countries are not incentivising people to have children.

You'd need to make a compelling reason for incentivizing it if anything. Western countries are incentivized by corporate interests. Corporate interests don't care for children because they get in the way of profits. You'd need someone who can rise above corporate interests to do things like health care, children, human rights, etc.

> Corporate interests don't care for children because they get in the way of profits.

Baloney. People having more children is the dream scenario for all business--more children = more consumers = more economic growth.

This has nothing to do with some evil corporate boogeyman.

Just look at the data. There's a direct correlation between rising standards of living and having less children. This is because, if you give humans education and birth control, it turns out most of them don't actually want to have 8 kids.

Re: Japan’s lost generation is still jobless and living with their parents

#180

Post by mshumi »

cryptica wrote: post #168

I don't think it's a coincidence that Japan has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio and also the largest number of jobless youth living with their parents. Debt fueled by inflationary government money-printing drives wealth inequality between asset owners and salary earners. Newly printed currency boosts asset prices and inflates away salaries. As Milton Friedman pointed out, it also increases the tax burden on citizens tw…

This is probably closer to the truth. It's not a coincidence that Japan was the first developed country to experience stagflation and is experiencing these problems.
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