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Is everything falling apart?

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Re: Is everything falling apart?

#761

Post by jaegerpicker »

basisword wrote: post #401
dv_dt wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you look at life expectancy in the America, it has been flat to reversing. Understandably with added pressure from Covid, but at a rate higher even with Covid higher than all other well resourced major nations. This not because we are unable, but because those with the power are unwilling to engage fundamental issues. Covid is not the only issue for which this is the case - it was happening before covid. Multiple…

>> If you look at life expectancy in the America, it has been flat to reversing. >> Multiple major issues with scientific and economic root causes are simply being ignored as stability and promises of improved prosperity provided by civilization is going backwards. How much of this can be explained by the fact that one third of adults in the US are obese as opposed to major scientific and economic issues?

And why is obesity rising so quickly in nearly all first world countries but particularly in the US? Most of the research points at three reasons:

1. Modern food systems - fast food, frozen boxed food, and a severe lack of access to healthy whole foods

2. Income inequality - Obesity rates are far higher in lower income people and healthy food is far more expensive

3. Work culture - We work far more hours and far less physical jobs. Less hours to exercise and more cost to exercise.

Sure individuals can find ways around all these issues but the more roadblocks we as a society put in people's way the more that will fail. Which is is exactly what the OP is talking about, major scientific and economic issues cause far worse health outcomes.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#762

Post by scollet »

throwaway6734 wrote: post #470
oicU00 wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh yeah no doubt; I collate trends into reports for rich investors. Lately they have been focused on youth trends, and some numbers are wacky. 40% point drop in 16 year olds getting a license since the 80s as urbanization puts people closer to stuff and ride share appeared. Youth participation in sports, especially full contact sports, had been going down since before covid which just accelerated it, leading to forec…

>We engineered away stability for JIT, covid came along and proved to many we live in a Banana Republic exporting memes of exceptionalism, while most people can’t grow a potato for themselves. This is hyperbolic. The US is not a banana republic. Why would you expect the average person to need to know how to grow a potato?

You don't even need to know how to grow to a potato, you just need to be able to learn how to grow one.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#763

Post by TimPC »

epolanski wrote: post #757
TimPC wrote: post #211

I'd argue that the greater risk of things falling apart is economic rather than political. We've built our society on two near-ponzi schemes that are in danger of falling apart. The first is pension funds which are paid into by current workers to pay out for past workers. Pension funds inherently depend on population growth to avoid shortfalls. They rely on the fact that more people pay into them then take out from t…

> But much of our society is built on real estate growth As an italian, I don't get that. I bought a 240k euros home for 25k in advance and 550 €s month of mortgage for the next 30 years. And in 30 years I will pay nothing, neither rent nor mortgage. That's why I did that. Real estate growth wasn't even in the back of my mind. I bought a home to have MY place, and to stop paying 750€ plus rent to some landlord. Rent…

The idea in North America is that homes are mostly investments. The real estate market grows and the home accrues additional value. At some point in retirement, typically when stairs become too difficult you might downsize to a condo, cashing in a fraction of the value. Alternatively, if you need a nursing home you sell the house to pay the exorbitant costs associated with that.

The motivation for homes to be investments is that we are taking out the largest loan we will ever have and allocating more than 100% of everything we own into an asset. Having done so it's natural to want that asset to generate returns.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#764

Post by epolanski »

floren wrote: post #411
mbg721 wrote: post #360

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard that the definition of "assault rifle" is mainly cosmetic; to what extent is that true?

Per Wikipedia, the US army defines an assault rifle as: "short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachine gun and rifle cartridges." Selective-fire means it's not just semi-automatic (one shot per trigger pull), it can also be set to fully auto (shoots as long as you pull the trigger) or burst (shoots a few rounds when you hold the trigger, then stops). These are e…

I don't know much about weapons, I'm European and we don't have much of them, but regardless of the definitions a gun is meant to kill people it has no other uses other than hunting. I find it very effective how in US the discourse can be shifted to which tools to kill should be limited more or less, rather than considering if society wouldn't be better off without them.

US police is violent, but how terrifying it can be when every car you pull for a routine control may contain a person who may shoot you?

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#765

Post by alar44 »

jaegerpicker wrote: post #751
throwaway6734 wrote: post #470

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>We engineered away stability for JIT, covid came along and proved to many we live in a Banana Republic exporting memes of exceptionalism, while most people can’t grow a potato for themselves. This is hyperbolic. The US is not a banana republic. Why would you expect the average person to need to know how to grow a potato?

Because someone has to know how to grow the potato or raise the cow or plant the corn. Right now we (modern first world countries) export that to fragile processes far away. Generally at great cost, environmentally and to the people/countries we export form. See the Amazon rainforest, slave labor in China or Africa, or un-controlled overfishing.

You sure? I'm in the Midwest and absolutely surrounded by farms. Do you really think your beef, grains, and potatos don't come from the heartland? How in the world would that make sense?

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#766

Post by imapeopleperson »

pianoben wrote: post #758
ravenstine wrote: post #111

Everything is not falling apart, though certain institutions may be falling apart. In America, there's definitely been a breakdown of belief in its own institutions. Far more people are skeptical of things like journalism and Silicon Valley; it really wasn't that long ago that the former was constantly salivating over the latter, but now it's more of an openly vulture-carrion relationship because that caters to publi…

> Even if one's "guy" is in office, I don't think we feel the same about it the way we did even as recent as Obama, and his administration was when we really began to see the social cracks forming. I really don't see it that way - this isn't at all a new phenomenon. What feels different to me is the intensity and pervasiveness of division, but then again that could be attributed to being more generally aware of thing…

> In my view, our "tribes" broadly descend from pro- vs. anti-slavery camps

Fact: George Floyd wouldn’t have died if he didn’t resist arrest.

I’m certainly not pro-slavery, and agree people can be racist, but there is certainly something wrong if people can’t openly discuss taboo truths without being slighted as a racist themselves, utterly dismissed, or censored.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#768

Post by rank0 »

noisymemories wrote: post #724
rank0 wrote: post #527

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go reread the thread. OP said: > "Strong men" make fascism, not good times. They’re not even referring to any person or distinct group of people. The statement is so overly broad that it could cover BILLIONS of people. You’re making a mockery of the atrocities committed by actual nazis and fascists. You know what those guys did right? You would never tell an Auschwitz survivor: “yeah, the strong males are just like t…

As I said in another post, I'm italian, and my grandparents had some direct experience on the matter. Their families were destroyed by nazists and fascists. My grandmother family was jewish, A have a few pictures of her relatives with a number tattoed on their arms. I never dared to ask where or how they got them. No idea how fucked up my gramps were, but by their direct account, yes that "strong males" attitude we'r…

You’re not really addressing my point.

Wtf does “strong man” even mean? Is every blue collar worker, athlete, law enforcement, first responder, military personnel…etc a fascist to you?

Why not go a step further and just say all men are fascist? Are all the food eaters fascist too? I mean all the fascist ate food after all!

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#769

Post by epolanski »

TimPC wrote: post #763
epolanski wrote: post #757

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But much of our society is built on real estate growth As an italian, I don't get that. I bought a 240k euros home for 25k in advance and 550 €s month of mortgage for the next 30 years. And in 30 years I will pay nothing, neither rent nor mortgage. That's why I did that. Real estate growth wasn't even in the back of my mind. I bought a home to have MY place, and to stop paying 750€ plus rent to some landlord. Rent…

The idea in North America is that homes are mostly investments. The real estate market grows and the home accrues additional value. At some point in retirement, typically when stairs become too difficult you might downsize to a condo, cashing in a fraction of the value. Alternatively, if you need a nursing home you sell the house to pay the exorbitant costs associated with that. The motivation for homes to be investm…

This is so alien to me. It's a place to live, it has walls, it has a resell value but it's not the main purpose of it. And all investments are risky by definition.

One should buy a house because one wants to save money, compared to renting, and have its own place, if you are buying for a price increase it's called speculation. If it is speculation, then you should not depend on it for your future and should put little money into it not decades of mortgage.

This is so linear to me. The idea that things keeps getting value forever is flawed and a house is too important and expensive for this kind of speculation.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#770

Post by tmnvix »

throwaway15908 wrote: post #126
SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, the big reason I'm skeptical is that the group of people who don't like "wokeism" seem to have pretty diverse identities. It's hard for me to see many similarities between irreligious business magnate Elon Musk, vaguely Catholic political blogger Andrew Sullivan, and my full time Baptist preacher cousin-in-law - I'm not sure I could identify any other policy question they all agree on.

I think, you are contrasting your peers to a propagandistic caricature. Or how easy can you fit in that image "moderate" leftists like bernie sanders or noam chomsky? What is the difference between woke and left?

> What is the difference between woke and left?

'left' to me has always been associated with class politics and 'woke' with identity politics.

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