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Alaska’s Engineering Colleges Prepare to Slash Programs, Lay Off Faculty

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Re: Alaska’s Engineering Colleges Prepare to Slash Programs, Lay Off Faculty

#111

Post by darkpuma »

pixl97 wrote: post #93
craftinator wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think his point is that "old people" won't live with the outcome of their votes. It's not a generally correct point, but it makes sense from the perspective that they don't have skin in the game.

Right, all old people are for killing their children. It's almost like black and white statements are just bad stereotypes.

The results speak for themselves and public opinion polling confirms it (https://news.gallup.com/poll/234314/global-warming-age-gap-y...). Old people voting is disastrous for the environment.

Are they malicious? Maybe, maybe not. But at the end of the day it doesn't matter if they're malicious, senile, or just plain old apathetic.

(Perhaps you can find a political issue for which young people throw caution to the wind and old people exercise appropriate caution, but I can guarantee you that the impact of that issue will not be as severe as climate change.)

Re: Alaska’s Engineering Colleges Prepare to Slash Programs, Lay Off Faculty

#112

Post by AnimalMuppet »

darkpuma wrote: post #111
pixl97 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, all old people are for killing their children. It's almost like black and white statements are just bad stereotypes.

The results speak for themselves and public opinion polling confirms it ( https://news.gallup.com/poll/234314/global-warming-age-gap-y... ). Old people voting is disastrous for the environment. Are they malicious? Maybe, maybe not. But at the end of the day it doesn't matter if they're malicious, senile, or just plain old apathetic. (Perhaps you can find a political issue for which young people throw caution to the w…

"We don't think they vote the right way, so we should deny them the right to vote" is a really shaky moral foundation for actions that rapidly destroy democracy.

And you don't like it when the other side does it...

Re: Alaska’s Engineering Colleges Prepare to Slash Programs, Lay Off Faculty

#113

Post by AnimalMuppet »

darkpuma wrote: post #110
stefco_ wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a fair point, but you can also flip it the other way: someone with 5 years left on Earth might be much more interested in improving things for future generations. Thinking about how your impact will live on after your death is an enduring human strategy for dealing with the terror of impending nonexistence. Another way to flip it: someone who's 40 has plenty of time left to live hedonistically without having t…

The assumption that age comes with wisdom is a gross oversimplification. Age is strongly correlated with dementia. Rather than they elderly having greater than normal lucidity, they often lack it, sometimes completely. We don't let teenagers vote because they're known for being hotheads, but when an 90 year old man forgets the names of his children, we still let him vote. That's nuts, and it shows that what we have r…

> That's nuts, and it shows that what we have right now is not a 1-person-1-vote system.

How does that show any such thing? Unless you're defining someone with dementia as "not a person".

> Go ask any climate scientist what our future on this current trajectory looks like. Trying to stay the course is suicide.

Ah. You're against old people voting because they don't vote the way you want on your hot-button issue. And you're willing to sacrifice the right to vote on the altar of climate change. No thanks. (But it makes me wonder what else you're willing to sacrifice there...)

Re: Alaska’s Engineering Colleges Prepare to Slash Programs, Lay Off Faculty

#114

Post by haihaibye »

cavisne wrote: post #94
chillacy wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Replacing government services with cash seems to be fairly libertarian: decrease the size of government, increase freedom for consumers who would be served by the market instead of these services, no?

The point is they won’t be replaced, as removing any government program is considered an outrage. So the end result of basic income is the existing level of spend + basic income.

This post is about cut services.

Re: Alaska’s Engineering Colleges Prepare to Slash Programs, Lay Off Faculty

#115

Post by zzzzzzzza »

8ytecoder wrote: post #107
cynicalkane wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Property, income, and sales taxes are all part of the cost of living and doing business. Raising property taxes won't hurt the general public any more than raising the other two. Taxes aren't a menu where you need a little of column A and a little of column B, just because. It's all money coming from the economy in some form and the important part is what you're incentivizing or disincentivizing. In fact, there's a m…

Different taxes affect different people differently. Sales tax primarily hits poor people for example - there’s only so much the rich can spend their money on. Bracketed income tax can be made to have low impact for lower income while boosting revenue. Property taxes tax the permanent residents but misses out the opportunity of, let’s say, taxing the tourists. Those are all levers. There was a recent article on econo…

tourists can still end up paying for property taxes. They occupy physical space. Best system is a pure land value tax. You can sprinkle in pigovian taxes to taste.

Re: Alaska’s Engineering Colleges Prepare to Slash Programs, Lay Off Faculty

#116

Post by dragonwriter »

8ytecoder wrote: post #107
cynicalkane wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Property, income, and sales taxes are all part of the cost of living and doing business. Raising property taxes won't hurt the general public any more than raising the other two. Taxes aren't a menu where you need a little of column A and a little of column B, just because. It's all money coming from the economy in some form and the important part is what you're incentivizing or disincentivizing. In fact, there's a m…

Different taxes affect different people differently. Sales tax primarily hits poor people for example - there’s only so much the rich can spend their money on. Bracketed income tax can be made to have low impact for lower income while boosting revenue. Property taxes tax the permanent residents but misses out the opportunity of, let’s say, taxing the tourists. Those are all levers. There was a recent article on econo…

> Property taxes tax the permanent residents but misses out the opportunity of, let’s say, taxing the tourists.

Tourists pay real property taxes because those taxes are factors into accommodation prices, and into the prices of goods and services sold to tourists.

Re: Alaska’s Engineering Colleges Prepare to Slash Programs, Lay Off Faculty

#117

Post by darkpuma »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #112
darkpuma wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The results speak for themselves and public opinion polling confirms it ( https://news.gallup.com/poll/234314/global-warming-age-gap-y... ). Old people voting is disastrous for the environment. Are they malicious? Maybe, maybe not. But at the end of the day it doesn't matter if they're malicious, senile, or just plain old apathetic. (Perhaps you can find a political issue for which young people throw caution to the w…

"We don't think they vote the right way, so we should deny them the right to vote" is a really shaky moral foundation for actions that rapidly destroy democracy. And you don't like it when the other side does it...

If democracy needs to be temporarily compromised to save the planet, so be it. The dogma of universal suffrage should not be our top priority (not that we currently live by it anyway!)

Re: Alaska’s Engineering Colleges Prepare to Slash Programs, Lay Off Faculty

#118

Post by darkpuma »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #113
darkpuma wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The assumption that age comes with wisdom is a gross oversimplification. Age is strongly correlated with dementia. Rather than they elderly having greater than normal lucidity, they often lack it, sometimes completely. We don't let teenagers vote because they're known for being hotheads, but when an 90 year old man forgets the names of his children, we still let him vote. That's nuts, and it shows that what we have r…

> That's nuts, and it shows that what we have right now is not a 1-person-1-vote system. How does that show any such thing? Unless you're defining someone with dementia as "not a person". > Go ask any climate scientist what our future on this current trajectory looks like. Trying to stay the course is suicide. Ah. You're against old people voting because they don't vote the way you want on your hot-button issue. And…

> "How does that show any such thing? Unless you're defining someone with dementia as "not a person"."

Are 17 year old people "not persons"? Of course not. Who is talking about non-personhood?

We currently forbid 17 year olds from voting (while allowing them to sign up for the military..) but where are the objections when a 75 year old with dementia and the mentality of a 5 year old votes? The 17 year old is unquestionably more qualified to vote than a senile pensioner who thinks Jimmy Carter is still in office and forgets to walk to the bathroom when nature calls. That's the case even if you disregard the "skin in the game" argument, or even if you somehow convince yourself that democracy is more important than bracing humanity for catastrophic climate change.

Re: Alaska’s Engineering Colleges Prepare to Slash Programs, Lay Off Faculty

#119

Post by AnimalMuppet »

darkpuma wrote: post #117
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We don't think they vote the right way, so we should deny them the right to vote" is a really shaky moral foundation for actions that rapidly destroy democracy. And you don't like it when the other side does it...

If democracy needs to be temporarily compromised to save the planet, so be it. The dogma of universal suffrage should not be our top priority (not that we currently live by it anyway!)

You are willing to "temporarily compromise" democracy. I doubt that it would be temporary; I doubt that it would be merely "compromise"; and I do not join you.

Re: Alaska’s Engineering Colleges Prepare to Slash Programs, Lay Off Faculty

#120

Post by AnimalMuppet »

darkpuma wrote: post #118
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's nuts, and it shows that what we have right now is not a 1-person-1-vote system. How does that show any such thing? Unless you're defining someone with dementia as "not a person". > Go ask any climate scientist what our future on this current trajectory looks like. Trying to stay the course is suicide. Ah. You're against old people voting because they don't vote the way you want on your hot-button issue. And…

> "How does that show any such thing? Unless you're defining someone with dementia as "not a person"." Are 17 year old people "not persons" ? Of course not. Who is talking about non-personhood? We currently forbid 17 year olds from voting (while allowing them to sign up for the military..) but where are the objections when a 75 year old with dementia and the mentality of a 5 year old votes? The 17 year old is unquest…

Ah, I now understand your argument. Well, if you want senile people prohibited from voting, then do it on the basis of senility, not on the basis of age. My mother is 91, and she's as qualified to vote as you are.

But if you want old people disqualified because you don't like the way they vote, get lost.

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