The pleasure of sexual activity is not strongly linked to pregnancy. This kind of human intervention was unexpected in the evolution of nature.
Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees
71–80 of 367 posts
Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Especially for something like Social Security safety nets, which relies on a larger younger population paying into it. I'm not sure if Japan has an equivalent but I think they do.
every social safety net in every country needs to be funded somehow and a shrinking population means more debt to take on or higher taxes on existing workers. nothing is free.
Yeah that was kind of my point. That's why it's better if there are more younger people to contribute than elderly people. If there's less, then the burder is greater on individuals.
Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees
#73I feel like it's been a long time fretting over falling birth rates and this is the first time I've seen anyone float the idea that making life better for people might make them a bit more inclined to make more people.
I am not sure about this one. In the past, quality of life was terrible compared to modern life but fertility was not an issue.
Quality of life was terrible, but some things were still easier. Most importantly, that terrible quality of life was cheap enough that your kids could probably support you in your old age. Medical care wasn't so advanced, which is cheaper, but also means you had a good chance of dying younger or of a condition we could cure today. Housing was cheaper but also worse back then. Investments weren't accessible to the vast majority of people and "retirement" as a concept didn't really exist for the lower classes except as an idea that you would probably be too old to effectively do your job someday.
Nowadays, your kids probably can't afford to support you into your old age, and you probably don't have a pension, which means making more money now so that you don't have to work until you die. You have a lot more options for a higher quality of life, but they tend to require that you prioritize money over a family unless you are either in the privileged position of being able to afford both or poor enough that it doesn't matter.
Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
Especially for something like Social Security safety nets, which relies on a larger younger population paying into it. I'm not sure if Japan has an equivalent but I think they do.
This is a great argument for individual retirement accounts rather than using the young to pay for the elderly. In the United States, if everyone's social security tax were put in an index fund, then everyone would be millionaires upon retirement. There are solutions other than pleading with people to have more kids.
I think you also generally need an exponentially increasing supply of working people in order for the economy to grow exponentially.
Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees
#75I feel like it's been a long time fretting over falling birth rates and this is the first time I've seen anyone float the idea that making life better for people might make them a bit more inclined to make more people.
I had an interesting discussion with my nephew about this post. He angers me with the way he talks about stuff, but I consider it an exercise in mental fortitude. Allow me to share his absolutely crazy and unreasonable thoughts on this:
"Nobody really wants more people except certain religious sects, and that is only because it allows them to use sexuality to control people. Most modern capitalists would favor automation precisely because it takes unreliable people out of the capitalistic equation and makes conversion of real property to wealth and power easier. The only reason why we're hearing about fertility and birth rate in the last few years is because certain religious organizations are scared they're going to end up losing their tax-free status and leveraging current social crises to make sure they stay relevant by any means necessary. I'm betting they have armies of incels ensnared in their fundamentalist ideologies getting tax-free money to shitpost on the various social networks."
I cut him off right there. I think he was drinking, and I haven't talked to him since. I'm considering having him committed because he acts very strange. He may have a drug problem.
Anyway I disagree with his premise because COVID-19 did really expose weaknesses in the supply chain and global world order and showed that depending completely on foreign entities can make you non-resilient in the face of disaster. So we do need strong families and all that stuff that's being talked about, it's a real actual need. And I do think making life better for people is the way to go, but we need to fix whatever decided that landlords should be getting most of the non-rich people's money first.
Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees
#76As much as I enjoy the concept, it’s already nearly impossible to get any goverment work done in Japan without taking a day off yourself. Everything government is open 9 to 5 and no more.
It’d be more exciting if this was basically anywhere else, but I guess we have to start somewhere.
Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees
#77Better: work with families to alternate remote days so one parent stays home with the kids and no need for childcare service
Many jobs might be in-person especially in Japan
Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees
#78Japan is forecast to still have 50 million people in 2120. I wouldn't call this a population crisis. With some rewilding it could be quite pleasant! I suspect companies are afraid of not growing, and governments are afraid to cut spending. Source: https://www.jcer.or.jp/english/new-population-projection-how...
The problem is not the absolute number of people, but the ratio of relatively younger people who work and produce something, and the elderly who already are too frail and can only consume (pensions, medical care, etc). Japan has now fewer productive workers per elderly person than most developed countries.
Even if the birth rate suddenly tripled, it wouldn't solve that issue for at least a generation. There's going to have to be other solutions, maybe in the form of automation/robotics/etc in conjunction with societal/economic changes. I wouldn't be surprised if the older population resists necessary changes and exacerbates the problem, though.
Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees
#79I feel like it's been a long time fretting over falling birth rates and this is the first time I've seen anyone float the idea that making life better for people might make them a bit more inclined to make more people.
I had an interesting discussion with my nephew about this post. He angers me with the way he talks about stuff, but I consider it an exercise in mental fortitude. Allow me to share his absolutely crazy and unreasonable thoughts on this: "Nobody really wants more people except certain religious sects, and that is only because it allows them to use sexuality to control people. Most modern capitalists would favor automa…
He's not totally wrong, just replace "Religious organizations" with "Governments" and "tax-free status" with "solders and workers"
Re: Tokyo is set to introduce a four-day workweek for government employees
#80Japan is forecast to still have 50 million people in 2120. I wouldn't call this a population crisis. With some rewilding it could be quite pleasant! I suspect companies are afraid of not growing, and governments are afraid to cut spending. Source: https://www.jcer.or.jp/english/new-population-projection-how...
The problem is not the absolute number of people, but the ratio of relatively younger people who work and produce something, and the elderly who already are too frail and can only consume (pensions, medical care, etc). Japan has now fewer productive workers per elderly person than most developed countries.
==Japan has now fewer productive workers per elderly person than most developed countries.==
Maybe, over the long run, we could change the expectation that elderly people can't be productive. Perhaps eliminating 20% of the workweek will allow people to maintain careers that are longer? The need to race towards retirement may lessen if we ease the burden of our weekly work schedule.