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The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

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Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#31

Post by nixon_why69 »

lenerdenator wrote: post #22
MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know why people downvoted this because it is obviously correct. In a democracy you have to buy the votes of the largest constituency with other people’s money, which in this case is the boomers votes with the younger generations money. This will continue until nothing is left. This already happened with the triple pension lock in GB, mathematically ensuring the bankruptcy of the state.

It's happening in the US, too. I know of a senior couple where the husband recently retired after forty years of working in a professional field. They live in a house worth over $750k that is paid off. They have three new or late-model vehicles. Both the husband and wife could, if necessary, work for an income. They also collect Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance checks after enrolling for them. The common…

SS has to pay everyone to be viable. If you make it more complicated the politics turn into a nightmare.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#32

Post by hilariously »

lenerdenator wrote: post #22
MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know why people downvoted this because it is obviously correct. In a democracy you have to buy the votes of the largest constituency with other people’s money, which in this case is the boomers votes with the younger generations money. This will continue until nothing is left. This already happened with the triple pension lock in GB, mathematically ensuring the bankruptcy of the state.

It's happening in the US, too. I know of a senior couple where the husband recently retired after forty years of working in a professional field. They live in a house worth over $750k that is paid off. They have three new or late-model vehicles. Both the husband and wife could, if necessary, work for an income. They also collect Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance checks after enrolling for them. The common…

Because they were promised it - fundamentally leaving the rich out of the social safety net doesn't even get us much and administrating the distinction costs money, and I am no fan of the wealthiest get additional benefits.

I think solving inequality will not be about reducing access to said safety nets but increasing them for all.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#33

Post by 0xDEAFBEAD »

Commentators: "America's young are addicted to their phones, hopelessly politically polarized, and socially illiterate. Test scores are dropping and critical thinking skills are at an all-time low. They hate and fear the other gender, mainline conspiracy theory podcasts, struggle with anxiety, were coddled from birth, etc. etc."

Also commentators: "The elderly have to go. We need fresh blood."

(Yes I acknowledge there is a middle position where you elect 45-year-olds who came of age before the internet yet are still reasonably sharp mentally. I just think it's interesting that the two narratives above seem to coexist so easily.)

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#34

Post by bruce511 »

lenerdenator wrote: post #22
MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know why people downvoted this because it is obviously correct. In a democracy you have to buy the votes of the largest constituency with other people’s money, which in this case is the boomers votes with the younger generations money. This will continue until nothing is left. This already happened with the triple pension lock in GB, mathematically ensuring the bankruptcy of the state.

It's happening in the US, too. I know of a senior couple where the husband recently retired after forty years of working in a professional field. They live in a house worth over $750k that is paid off. They have three new or late-model vehicles. Both the husband and wife could, if necessary, work for an income. They also collect Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance checks after enrolling for them. The common…

If you work for 40 years, chances are you will have accumulated some assets. I'm not sure that "sell your house and cars to pay for food" is a policy that will be popular.

Equally those same people have paid taxes for 40 years, paid into social security (to the benefit of their elders) and so on.

Keeping them in the work-force is largely undesirable. A job occupied by a 70 year old is a job not occupied by someone younger. If retirement age was say 80 instead of 60, there would be 25% fewer jobs to go around. (using imprecise simple math).

Look, most all of us will get old and eventually claim on social security or whatever. Politically just "ending that" is pretty much a non-starter to anyone who has been contributing for any length of time. Even fiddling with the edges of it (raising the retirement age) will get you voted out of office.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#35

Post by lostapathy »

throwaway173738 wrote: post #17
01100011 wrote: post #14

Old people are organized and more social. I see it in my community. They run the newsletters and they host community events. "Oh that's because they're retired!" No, many of them are not. Many still work. I want the gerontocracy to end, but I'm also worried what takes its place. Gen Xers like me seem to lack some of the abilities present in our older generations. We'll probably be more equitable and fair, but will we…

Organization is a skill that can be passed on, and to the degree that old people are still doing it themselves they’re depriving us of opportunities to learn and to practice and to benefit from their experience. That’s why we’re not as good at it.

Relatedly, it's a skill that goes with positions that are clung to such that nobody else gets to practice and learn said skill.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#37

Post by hilariously »

NegativeK wrote: post #12
egypturnash wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This would mostly end up punishing people who live in places where voting is deliberately made difficult due to having to skip an entire workday (and its pay, if you're paid hourly instead of salaried) to go to some out-of-the-way location to vote.

A not thoroughly thought out response: Those people would heavily incentivized to protect their ability to vote.

People in America die from preventable illnesses constantly because they cannot afford access to care but I guess they forgot to protect the ability to not die or whatever.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#38

Post by Terr_ »

0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #33

Commentators: "America's young are addicted to their phones, hopelessly politically polarized, and socially illiterate. Test scores are dropping and critical thinking skills are at an all-time low. They hate and fear the other gender, mainline conspiracy theory podcasts, struggle with anxiety, were coddled from birth, etc. etc." Also commentators: "The elderly have to go. We need fresh blood." (Yes I acknowledge ther…

But are they the same commentators each time?

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#39

Post by hilariously »

WalterBright wrote: post #36
r14c wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you expand on that? My concept of fairness is pretty congruent with equity.

[flagged]

Equity? You mean equality (and that's still about rights, not pay.) Equity is just a stake in the outcome at all.

Re: The Old Guard: Confronting America's Gerontocratic Crisis

#40

Post by WalterBright »

lostapathy wrote: post #35
throwaway173738 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Organization is a skill that can be passed on, and to the degree that old people are still doing it themselves they’re depriving us of opportunities to learn and to practice and to benefit from their experience. That’s why we’re not as good at it.

Relatedly, it's a skill that goes with positions that are clung to such that nobody else gets to practice and learn said skill.

An awful lot of young people are starting businesses. Look at all the people under 30 becoming billionaires. This just didn't happen when I was young.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdurot/2025/12/22/why-there-...

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