>From: Charlie Stross <charlie@antipope.org>
>Reply-To: extropians@extropy.org
>To: extropians@extropy.org
>Subject: Re: NEWS: Ageing recession warning
>Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2001 15:12:03 +0100
>
>On Thu, Aug 30, 2001 at 07:28:57AM -0500, Tiberius Gracchus wrote:
> > >Folks, we _need_ those anti-ageing treatments. Badly!
> >
> > Right! we need to be able to keep working and working even as we get
> > older and older. I want to live forever so I can keep going to the
> > office and working and working....
> >
> > This article, the assumption made by its author, and your response to
> > it, exemplify very well common misconceptions about economics made by
> > the media.
>
>Question-mark?
>
>What on earth are you going on about?
>
>Yes, I know that the media assume we all live to work. I am aware
>that, with any luck, this whole issue will become academic within a
>decade or so as assumptions about productivity being coupled to human
>beings slide into obsolescence.
>
>Nevertheless, this is *the* problem that has held *Japan* in recession
>throughout the 1990's. It may not have been the initial cause, but
>the demographics suggest that the increasing old age problem there
>has exacerbated their current economic headaches.
>
>The critical thing to note is the ratio of productive workers to non-
>productive pensioners. Within the current paradigm, fewer workers and
>more pensioners means either the need for more wealth distribution and
>higher taxation ... or starving pensioners.
>
>This isn't about the future; this is about the here-and-now. And how
>are we going to get to that wonderful technological singularity if
>our planetary economy goes into decline and stays there for the rest
>of our lives?
>
>
The term "recession" measures the health of a country when it is treated as
a business. But what has that to do with the wellbeing of the *citizens* of
the country? Let's look at what should be the perfectly obvious example:
suppose all citizens of Japan were retired, having saved enough money to be
financially independent. No one at all would be working: the GDP would
approach ZERO...the media would be screaming about it. But the *owners* of
the country, its retired citizens, are doing just great. I really hope this
example brought home for you just how very disconnected from reality media
economic reporting really is.
And yes, I want to live forever, too, but I have come to the conclusion that
the conventional wisdom that a "healthy economy" has little bearing on the
chances of developing long life medicine. WHy should the two be connected?
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:22 MDT