I am already the one in need of assistance. I am part of the first generation of Australians to be poorer than their parents. And the burden of the elderly is only expected to grow as I age. For most people my age their main prospects are the inheritances from their parents that is sure to come later and worth less. I think there is something to say about the expected lifespan of people growing faster than the cultural changes needed to support an on average older population.
Comment on Are our societal problems being caused because modern technology allows people to be old for longer?
j4k3@lemmy.world 1 week ago
No. There are no simple anecdotes like this.
One of our biggest problems is cultural across the entire West. We have a mindset like we are at some final state of technology and extraction of wealth is acceptable. It largely stems from unchecked inherited wealth. Meritocracy is critical for success in any system. Inherited wealth will always cause stagnation and decline because intelligence and business acumen are not inherited traits. For example, Donald Trump is worth far less now than if he had taken his vast inheritance, bought government bonds, and stayed on Epstein island permanently.
When you’re young, such ideas about the burden of others lack perspective. Your view will change as those around you that you care about face the probabilities of life poorly and you notice the injustices they encounter where the social safety net is their only lifeline. If you do not develop to the point of such depth of self awareness, you’re likely to be the one in need of assistance eventually.
Fleur_@aussie.zone 1 week ago
j4k3@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I was disabled by a terrible driver at 29 while riding a bicycle to work. That was 11 years ago. When my folks die, I will die shortly thereafter because I face homelessness in an impossible system in the USA. There is direct evidence of people taking care if the disabled and elderly in the remains of ancient humans many tens of thousands of years ago. If we cannot rise to the standards of prehistoric people living in caves, perhaps none of us has a right to exist.
Fleur_@aussie.zone 1 week ago
Eh I’m not in the US so my situation is different from yours. Modern welfare systems are more comprehensive than anything seen before in human history, I support them. I pay more for groceries than my parents did in rent when they were my age. My parents never had to pay for a university education while I have accumulated more debt than them before getting a full time job than they did until they started getting mortgages. And I am gonna have to deal with the economic slump of supporting their and my grandparents retirement. Our societies aren’t built to support aging populations. My retirement plans are death or moving to a low income country.
j4k3@lemmy.world 1 week ago
It was much the same nearly 20 years ago too. My folks got their first house for less than $100k. I barely scraped by with my business painting cars around 04-06. I went back to it around 07 and did alright until used car lots flat lined for 3 months straight in late 08. I never recovered from the criminal shit the banks did to real estate and fucked the economy. I tried to gt a good job but stuff like an apprenticeship with a local Union had 3k+ applicants show up for 15 positions. I would have been 3rd generation and work my ass off but it did nothing. I did the Los Angeles Fire Department interview one time. They literally use the Long Beach convention center’s basement level to do the first two stages. The first stage had over 10k people show up to take the written test. I made it to the last 600, but they filtered on EMT experience and that cut me in the second to last before the fire academy. When I worked in the bike shops as a Buyer for a chain, everyone working there had a university degree but me. Such is life here. Nothing is made here so it is a race to the bottom. And this is as good as it gets in the USA. I have lived mostly in Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia but south of LA now. The rest of the country is much worse than here.
Arkouda@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
Globally our biggest problems are cultural. West vs. East rhetoric should have been left in Ancient Greece.
j4k3@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Arkouda@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
It is really ignorant to assume that 1) All “Western” culture is the same and 2) “Eastern” culture doesn’t have numerous issues itself.
The point is the problem is cultural globally. Everyone has problems, and they are all rooted in their cultures.