• Why Britain's state pension time bomb is about to explode

    From useapen@21:1/5 to All on Sun Mar 3 08:17:29 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns
    XPost: alt.society.liberalism, talk.politics.misc

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964
    have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years,
    with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a
    record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone
    will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today.

    Rising longevity meant that for decades, raising the state pension age was
    the silver bullet that helped to defuse Britain’s demographic time bomb.
    But not for much longer.

    Until now, a rising age limit has kept the Baby Boomers working, boosting
    a jobs-rich recovery in the wake of the financial crisis and keeping the economy afloat.

    It meant politicians could think of paying pensions as tomorrow’s problem
    – a long-term challenge of slow-moving demographics that could always be
    left to a future government.

    But that time bomb is still ticking. And Britain’s falling birth rate and
    life expectancy means it’s about to explode amid this huge wave of
    retirement.

    The Telegraph is examining the future of the state pension in a three-part series that will focus on the implications for work, retirement and living standards for different generations.

    In this first instalment, we look at whether the Government can keep
    making the sums add up when the pensioner population is expected to rise
    from 12m today to 17m by 2070.

    Trouble ahead
    The working age population is expected to increase by just over 1m to 44m
    over that period.

    Already, Ł1 in every Ł8 of government spending goes on the state pension.
    Fast forward 50 years, and that number will be more like Ł1 in every Ł6.

    A wave of retiring boomers is expected to push up the pensions bill dramatically this decade. While raising the state pension age to 67 by
    2028 will stem the rise in costs, the Office for Budget Responsibility
    (OBR) predicts overall spending on the state pension will be Ł23bn higher
    in 2027-28 than it was at the start of the 2020s. This jump is not
    happening within five decades, but five years.

    Sir Charlie Bean, a former OBR official, says the world took a global
    peace dividend and era of cheap money for granted, spending extra money
    with abandon, which is now coming back to bite.

    “If you go back about 50 years about a quarter of [state] spending was on health and welfare including pensions. That has risen to about half, essentially because of these demographic forces - ageing - and also the
    nature of technical change in the health sector,” he says, noting that
    medical innovations are often expensive.

    “Three things have made room for it. Firstly, declines in public
    investment; secondly declines in defence spending [that came with] the
    cold war dividend; and thirdly a fall in contribution from debt interest.”

    Suddenly those have reversed, with serious implications for spending in
    the next parliament at a time when money is already very tight.

    The OBR believes spending on state pensions will rise from 5.1pc of GDP
    this year - or around Ł130bn in today’s money - to 8.6pc of GDP in 2073,
    or around Ł230bn. An older population also means more demand on health spending, which is set to increase from 8.2pc of GDP this year to 15pc of
    GDP.

    While a fall in the number of young people will reduce spending on schools
    over this period, the surge in older-age costs will swell the state to
    more than half the size of the economy, up from 33pc pre-pandemic and an estimated 38pc by the end of the decade.

    Governments have two choices if they want to constrain state pension
    spending in the future. Make people wait longer to claim it, or make it
    less generous.

    Life’s too short
    The question of when the state pension age should rise from 67 to 68 has already been the subject of two independent reviews.

    John Cridland, author of the first report in 2017, suggested it should
    rise to 68 between 2037 and 2039. Baroness Neville-Rolfe, the author of
    the second, said that based on the rule of thumb that people should spend roughly a third of their adult life in retirement, it should not rise to
    68 until 2041-43.

    But falling life expectancy has thrown a spanner in the works, forcing
    Jeremy Hunt to delay a decision on when to next increase pension age for a second time.

    Advances in healthcare and better working conditions have resulted in four decades of improving life expectancy. But the rate of increase has slowed,
    and not just because of the pandemic.


    Life expectancy growth has been slowing since 2011, with pandemic deaths
    in 2020 and 2021 sending progress into reverse. Life expectancy is roughly
    now back to where it was a decade ago, according to the Office for
    National Statistics (ONS).

    UK life expectancy at birth is now estimated to be 78.6 years for males
    and 82.6 years for females, according to the ONS. That’s 38 weeks fewer
    for males and 23 weeks lower for females compared with 2017 to 2019.

    Cridland, who wrote the first report for the Government, says: “I think
    there’s quite a lot of evidence that the continuing increase in longevity
    is topping out. And that is overlaid by the pandemic, but actually the
    signs were already there. If that’s the case, then you could argue the trajectory for further tightening of the state pension, both in age and support, could become more muted. My instinct is that the days of big
    increases in longevity are fading.”


    There is also the issue of how fit people remain after they retire. The
    ONS defines this as an estimate of how much people believe their lives are spent in “very good” or “good” health. And the evidence suggests this is
    also in decline, with Scots seeing the biggest deterioration over the past
    few years.

    Britain’s not working
    Sick Britain has barely been out of the headlines since lockdown, with the number of people neither in work nor looking for a job currently at a
    record high of 2.8m.

    A rise in back and neck pain among older workers is partly to blame. The
    UK is one of eight OECD countries where at least 20pc of adults aged over
    65 report “severe limitations in their daily life”, according to the think-tank.

    Alongside Denmark and Norway, Britain also has the highest levels of
    statin consumption per head in the OECD, and the third-highest use of antidepressants.

    This matters because the state pension is paid from the taxes of people in
    work today, so the more people there are in work relative to those
    retired, the better.


    In 2020, there were around 30 pensioners for every 100 people of working
    age. That has already risen to almost 32 pensioners, and will hit 35
    before the decade is out – the timeline over which financial decisions at
    next week’s Budget are being made.

    Making people wait longer to claim their pension may seem obvious, but it
    also risks widening the inequality gap. A recent report by the Longevity
    Centre suggests that people may need to work until they’re 71 before
    receiving the state pension to maintain the number of workers per retiree.

    If that’s the case, the average person in Newton Heath and Moston in
    Manchester would die before receiving it. Life expectancy here is just
    70.2 years old, compared with 85.6 years in nearby Deansgate.

    Healthy life expectancy also varies wildly depending on where you were
    born. A man in Rutland can expect to live 75 years in rude health, while
    in Blackpool that number is just 54 years.

    Even this rapidly worsening picture does not tell us everything.


    Looking at the number of people of working age is one thing. Looking at
    how many are actually in work – and paying the taxes needed to fund the
    state pension – is another.

    The number of working age people who are economically inactive has been
    rising, hitting 9.3m at the last count. That is equivalent to 21.9pc of
    all people aged between 16 and 64.

    Lord Turnbull, a former permanent secretary to the Treasury and cabinet secretary, says major trends which have helped in past decades are no
    longer enough to keep the dependency ratio healthy.

    “Immigration helps redress the balance, but we are now going through a
    phase about where have all the workers gone? There has been this huge
    increase in inactivity,” he says.

    “By and large activity had been rising as more women came into the
    workforce, but inactivity turned up in pandemic and almost uniquely among comparable countries, it has not returned to its trend level - it stayed
    up.”

    In particular, he frets that “we are the sickest country in Europe”,
    pushing people out of the workforce and leaving the public purse bearing
    the cost of healthcare bills without tax receipts.

    Cridland suggests that ensuring the state pension remains fair will
    involve tough choices.

    He says that within the next decade, if Britain wants to “start to put in
    place a plan to constrain cost increases without having to rob the health budget, or rob the education budget or put up taxes, the next logical
    thing you would do after deciding when the state pension age goes up,
    would in my judgment be to remove the triple lock”.

    RECOMMENDED

    'I spent a week living on little more than the state pension – it wasn't
    much of a life'
    Read more
    Lock and load
    The policy, which was introduced at the start of the last decade, ensures
    that payments to pensioners rise by the highest of 2.5pc, inflation or
    earnings growth, whichever is higher.

    It is understood that the Conservative Party will put the commitment in
    its election manifesto.

    A Tory source said: “The triple lock is a Conservative Party creation, has
    been in every Conservative Party manifesto since we introduced it, and we
    will commit to it again.”

    Labour signalled it would do the same and challenged the prime minister to
    put the commitment on record.

    Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, says: “The difference between being
    in retirement and being of working age is that when you’re in retirement,
    it is very difficult to increase your income. And so I think that
    stability and certainty that your income is protected is important.

    “We’ve always supported the triple lock.”

    A Labour spokesman added: “The Labour Party will always stand up for
    working people to have a fair, decent pension and financial security in retirement.

    “Rishi Sunak’s government has previously broken their promise to
    pensioners and now need to be clear about their intention to maintain the triple lock, to ensure pensioners’ incomes don’t fall behind what is
    needed to give them a decent standard of living.”


    Pensions minister Paul Maynard describes the state pension as a safety net
    for millions of people.

    “I want to ensure the State Pension remains the foundation of income in retirement for future generations in a way that it is sustainable and
    fair,” he says.

    “This Government introduced the triple lock to do just that, and since
    2011 we’ve lifted 200,000 older people out of poverty. With the full rate
    of the new state pension rising to Ł11,500 in April this is vital
    additional money for our hard-working pensioners who rely solely on this income.

    “We are taking long term decisions to build a brighter future for millions
    – one that delivers for the pensioners of today and tomorrow.”

    But not everyone is a fan of the triple lock. Peter Lilley, a former Work
    and Pensions Secretary, describes it as “absurdly generous and
    unsustainable in the long-term”.

    He adds: “Why pensioners should get an increase when neither prices are
    going up nor wages are going up is absurd.”

    Lord Turnbull says the triple lock is “daft, but terrifically difficult to
    get rid of”.

    “When we get a shock, an output shock or a prices shock, you suddenly find
    you have significantly made the pension more generous,” he adds.

    “But it wasn’t a considered decision, it just happened. It is a very silly
    way to do it.”

    The Government is committed to reviewing the state pension age again in
    the first two years of the next parliament.

    Sir Steve Webb, the pensions minister who helped to introduce the policy,
    says it’s time to look at government spending as a whole to find solutions
    to keep the state pension on a sustainable path.

    “There’s lots of things you can do to make the state pension system more affordable apart from just hiking the pension age. One of which is making
    more people of working age economically active,” he says.

    The OBR estimates that the total annual tax loss as a result of rising health-related inactivity and in-work ill-health is likely to stand at
    almost Ł9bn a year. This would be more than enough to cut 1p off income
    tax - and keep paying for the triple lock.

    “That’s a far better thing to focus on than just repeatedly hiking the
    pension age,” says Sir Steve.

    “The risk is we think that the solution to the affordability of the state pension lies exclusively within the state pension system, and it just
    doesn’t.”

    There might be more than one solution to the problem. But the state
    pensions time bomb is still ticking down – and hiding from reality is no
    longer an option.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/02/29/uk-state-pension-triple- lock-time-bomb-explode/?li_source=LI&li_medium=for_you

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From abelard@21:1/5 to yourdime@outlook.com on Sun Mar 3 15:44:43 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns
    XPost: alt.society.liberalism, talk.politics.misc

    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:17:29 -0000 (UTC), useapen
    <yourdime@outlook.com> wrote:

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964
    have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years,
    with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a
    record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone
    will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today.

    we can easily meet any particular pension

    a lot is about choice
    we could all choose to walk or cycle

    read this from the '30s
    "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren." keynes
    (many coppies on the net)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From JNugent@21:1/5 to useapen on Sun Mar 3 14:22:07 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns
    XPost: alt.society.liberalism, talk.politics.misc

    On 03/03/2024 08:17 am, useapen wrote:

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964
    have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years,
    with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a
    record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone
    will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today.

    [ .. ]

    RECOMMENDED

    'I spent a week living on little more than the state pension – it wasn't much of a life'

    Since no-one has to do that in real life (because of Pension Credit,
    Council Tax Benefit, Housing benefit and mortgage interest - where
    applicable - within Pension Credit), one wonders what the author can
    have set off to prove.

    FWIW, *I* couldn't live on my state pension of ÂŁ669.76 every four weeks.
    But since I don't have to, that doesn't prove anything.

    The policy, which was introduced at the start of the last decade, ensures that payments to pensioners rise by the highest of 2.5pc, inflation or earnings growth, whichever is higher.

    No. Not "payments to pensioners", but "the state pension", which is not
    the only payment made to pensioners. Just as with other means-tested
    benefits, Pension Credit, Council Tax Benefit, Housing Benefit and
    mortgage interest within Pension Credit are subject only to an annual
    increase at the relevant inflation rate. This year, the
    (non-means-tested) state pension will increase by a smidgeon over 8%
    (the increase in earnings) while the means-tested Pension Credit,
    Council Tax Benefit, Housing Benefit and mortgage interest within
    Pension Credit will increase by about 6% (the rise in prices from
    September 2022 to September 2023). So this year, the incomes of
    pensioners will not, overall, rise by the same rate as earnings. Parts
    of them will, but not all of them. They will, however, rise overall by
    more then the rate of inflation.

    It is understood that the Conservative Party will put the commitment in
    its election manifesto.
    A Tory source said: “The triple lock is a Conservative Party creation, has been in every Conservative Party manifesto since we introduced it, and we will commit to it again.”

    Labour signalled it would do the same and challenged the prime minister to put the commitment on record.

    Hadn't the Conservative Party just *done* that, as said by "Tory Source"?

    What is the point in asking a party to commit to something they've
    already committed to?

    Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, says: “The difference between being in retirement and being of working age is that when you’re in retirement, it is very difficult to increase your income. And so I think that
    stability and certainty that your income is protected is important.

    “We’ve always supported the triple lock.”

    A Labour spokesman added: “The Labour Party will always stand up for working people to have a fair, decent pension and financial security in retirement.

    So why didn't THEY introduce the Triple Lock some time between 1997 and
    2010? Or between 1974 and 1979, between 1964 and 1970 or even between
    1945 and 1951? No-one was stopping them.

    “Rishi Sunak’s government has previously broken their promise to pensioners and now need to be clear about their intention to maintain the triple lock, to ensure pensioners’ incomes don’t fall behind what is needed to give them a decent standard of living.”

    Pensions minister Paul Maynard describes the state pension as a safety net for millions of people.
    “I want to ensure the State Pension remains the foundation of income in retirement for future generations in a way that it is sustainable and fair,” he says.
    “This Government introduced the triple lock to do just that, and since
    2011 we’ve lifted 200,000 older people out of poverty. With the full rate of the new state pension rising to £11,500 in April this is vital
    additional money for our hard-working pensioners who rely solely on this income.
    “We are taking long term decisions to build a brighter future for millions – one that delivers for the pensioners of today and tomorrow.”
    But not everyone is a fan of the triple lock. Peter Lilley, a former Work
    and Pensions Secretary, describes it as “absurdly generous and unsustainable in the long-term”.
    He adds: “Why pensioners should get an increase when neither prices are going up nor wages are going up is absurd.”

    ?????

    When was there ever a time in living memory when the UK inflation rate
    was 0%?

    Lord Turnbull says the triple lock is “daft, but terrifically difficult to get rid of”.
    “When we get a shock, an output shock or a prices shock, you suddenly find you have significantly made the pension more generous,” he adds.

    Or exactly the same real terms "generosity" as before the price rises?

    “But it wasn’t a considered decision, it just happened. It is a very silly
    way to do it.”
    The Government is committed to reviewing the state pension age again in
    the first two years of the next parliament.
    Sir Steve Webb, the pensions minister who helped to introduce the policy, says it’s time to look at government spending as a whole to find solutions to keep the state pension on a sustainable path.
    “There’s lots of things you can do to make the state pension system more affordable apart from just hiking the pension age. One of which is making more people of working age economically active,” he says.
    The OBR estimates that the total annual tax loss as a result of rising health-related inactivity and in-work ill-health is likely to stand at
    almost ÂŁ9bn a year. This would be more than enough to cut 1p off income
    tax - and keep paying for the triple lock.
    “That’s a far better thing to focus on than just repeatedly hiking the pension age,” says Sir Steve.
    “The risk is we think that the solution to the affordability of the state pension lies exclusively within the state pension system, and it just doesn’t.”

    There might be more than one solution to the problem. But the state
    pensions time bomb is still ticking down – and hiding from reality is no longer an option.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/02/29/uk-state-pension-triple- lock-time-bomb-explode/?li_source=LI&li_medium=for_you


    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From 63h.1504@21:1/5 to abelard on Sun Mar 3 20:09:53 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On 3/3/24 9:44 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:17:29 -0000 (UTC), useapen
    <yourdime@outlook.com> wrote:

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964
    have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years,
    with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a
    record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone
    will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today.

    we can easily meet any particular pension

    a lot is about choice
    we could all choose to walk or cycle

    read this from the '30s
    "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren." keynes
    (many coppies on the net)

    The UK is suffering from the same demographic crisis as
    much of the 1st world - drastic reduction in birthrates
    create a fatal gap ... no youth, no money, to support the
    older gens. The success of the 1st world after WW2 led
    people to believe they didn't need nine kids to protect
    them in their old age.

    And it was true ... for awhile.

    The very worst off is S.Korea - birthrate of 0.71 at last
    tally. Bare "replacement" is 2.1 per.

    Countries are importing 3rd-world people in droves - no
    matter how they frame it for political reasons - to try
    and cope. It may serve for one more gen, but much beyond
    that the original "nations/cultures" are DEAD, completely
    replaced by "the help".

    The UK does not have the money to boost the pension system,
    or the medical system, or much of ANY system. Like so many
    others it's been a debt economy for a long time - does not
    create enough product/profit to pay the bills and keeps
    falling further and further behind the curve.

    The pension system in the USA is also, technically, in huge
    debt. However there's a trick to that figure - the reason is
    that rather than create politically unpopular new taxes the
    pols kept borrowing from the pension fund - a "secret piggy
    bank" - where it would go unnoticed. Alas the USA is kind of
    in the same sort of boat as the UK, just not QUITE so close
    to sinking. Same factors involved though, same outcomes ensured.

    In any case, feet and bikes will not save the UK - indeed
    just make business less efficient. Unless a meteor wipes
    out China and India and FORCES the 1st-world to become
    self-sufficient again, well, they will be excavating and
    arguing about the downfall 5000 years from now. Will likely
    think Churchill took tea with Queen Boudica at The Shard :-)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From abelard@21:1/5 to All on Mon Mar 4 15:16:48 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 20:09:53 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/3/24 9:44 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:17:29 -0000 (UTC), useapen
    <yourdime@outlook.com> wrote:

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964 >>> have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years, >>> with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a
    record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone
    will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today.

    we can easily meet any particular pension

    a lot is about choice
    we could all choose to walk or cycle

    read this from the '30s
    "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren." keynes
    (many coppies on the net)

    The UK is suffering from the same demographic crisis as
    much of the 1st world - drastic reduction in birthrates
    create a fatal gap ... no youth, no money, to support the
    older gens. The success of the 1st world after WW2 led
    people to believe they didn't need nine kids to protect
    them in their old age.

    And it was true ... for awhile.

    The very worst off is S.Korea - birthrate of 0.71 at last
    tally. Bare "replacement" is 2.1 per.

    Countries are importing 3rd-world people in droves - no
    matter how they frame it for political reasons - to try
    and cope. It may serve for one more gen, but much beyond
    that the original "nations/cultures" are DEAD, completely
    replaced by "the help".

    The UK does not have the money to boost the pension system,
    or the medical system, or much of ANY system. Like so many
    others it's been a debt economy for a long time - does not
    create enough product/profit to pay the bills and keeps
    falling further and further behind the curve.

    The pension system in the USA is also, technically, in huge
    debt. However there's a trick to that figure - the reason is
    that rather than create politically unpopular new taxes the
    pols kept borrowing from the pension fund - a "secret piggy
    bank" - where it would go unnoticed. Alas the USA is kind of
    in the same sort of boat as the UK, just not QUITE so close
    to sinking. Same factors involved though, same outcomes ensured.

    In any case, feet and bikes will not save the UK - indeed
    just make business less efficient. Unless a meteor wipes
    out China and India and FORCES the 1st-world to become
    self-sufficient again, well, they will be excavating and
    arguing about the downfall 5000 years from now. Will likely
    think Churchill took tea with Queen Boudica at The Shard :-)

    it isn't about money...it's about choices and technology

    there are now robot dogs being road tested as guide
    dogs for the blind
    soon cars will not require drivers...robots are being developed
    as carers

    the world changes....it is not static with predictable outcomes

    the changes are everywhere

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From abelard@21:1/5 to All on Mon Mar 4 16:28:59 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns
    XPost: alt.society.liberalism, talk.politics.misc

    abstract 'thinking' is the root cause of much mental disease

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From 63h.1504@21:1/5 to abelard on Mon Mar 4 17:07:05 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On 3/4/24 10:28 AM, abelard wrote:





    abstract 'thinking' is the root cause of much mental disease

    "Abstract" thinking is a hallmark of our species,
    what "sets us apart".

    And yea, we are kinda nuts.

    More fun ! :-)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From 63h.1504@21:1/5 to abelard on Mon Mar 4 17:54:54 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On 3/4/24 9:16 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 20:09:53 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/3/24 9:44 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:17:29 -0000 (UTC), useapen
    <yourdime@outlook.com> wrote:

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964 >>>> have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years, >>>> with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a >>>> record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone >>>> will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today. >>>
    we can easily meet any particular pension

    a lot is about choice
    we could all choose to walk or cycle

    read this from the '30s
    "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren." keynes
    (many coppies on the net)

    The UK is suffering from the same demographic crisis as
    much of the 1st world - drastic reduction in birthrates
    create a fatal gap ... no youth, no money, to support the
    older gens. The success of the 1st world after WW2 led
    people to believe they didn't need nine kids to protect
    them in their old age.

    And it was true ... for awhile.

    The very worst off is S.Korea - birthrate of 0.71 at last
    tally. Bare "replacement" is 2.1 per.

    Countries are importing 3rd-world people in droves - no
    matter how they frame it for political reasons - to try
    and cope. It may serve for one more gen, but much beyond
    that the original "nations/cultures" are DEAD, completely
    replaced by "the help".

    The UK does not have the money to boost the pension system,
    or the medical system, or much of ANY system. Like so many
    others it's been a debt economy for a long time - does not
    create enough product/profit to pay the bills and keeps
    falling further and further behind the curve.

    The pension system in the USA is also, technically, in huge
    debt. However there's a trick to that figure - the reason is
    that rather than create politically unpopular new taxes the
    pols kept borrowing from the pension fund - a "secret piggy
    bank" - where it would go unnoticed. Alas the USA is kind of
    in the same sort of boat as the UK, just not QUITE so close
    to sinking. Same factors involved though, same outcomes ensured.

    In any case, feet and bikes will not save the UK - indeed
    just make business less efficient. Unless a meteor wipes
    out China and India and FORCES the 1st-world to become
    self-sufficient again, well, they will be excavating and
    arguing about the downfall 5000 years from now. Will likely
    think Churchill took tea with Queen Boudica at The Shard :-)

    it isn't about money...it's about choices and technology

    there are now robot dogs being road tested as guide
    dogs for the blind

    They're crap - don't give one to a blind person
    unless you want them dead.

    soon cars will not require drivers...robots are being developed
    as carers

    Note the increasing tide of lawsuits and criminal cases
    and govt regs involving "self-driving" ("self-crashing")
    automobiles.

    Be it e-dogs or 'smart'cars, the tech ISN'T NEARLY THERE YET.

    Oh yea, what "AI" there IS means MASSIVE disemployment of
    humans over the next 10-20 years - they'll be obsolete.
    How will they live ? Tax their previous employers much
    more and they'll go broke - no more money. Oh, and the
    final gotcha - disemployed people can't BUY much, so
    the hoped-for corporate savings will turn to ruin as
    nobody can buy their products.

    the world changes....it is not static with predictable outcomes

    the changes are everywhere

    Tech/"AI" is not gonna save western economies. Hell, they
    won't even be MAKING it ... just sending more money to
    China until something goes wrong in China and then we're
    all back to dung huts and the Plague .....

    Post-WW2, western economies over-invested plus created
    vast infrastructure that today's economic realities just
    cannot support. Profits turned to losses turned to
    impossible debts. These are "fantasy economies".

    Was looking at sat photos of the UK the other day. It
    is impressive (perhaps a bit sad) that there is very
    little 'nature' left - the rest is solid farms farms
    and more farms. Now we'd THINK that means that at least
    the UK won't starve when the Fantasy ends ... but note
    that farms aren't magic - they require lots of labor
    and "stuff", plus the goods require transport and safe
    storage and smooth exchange of money. Most of that
    requires respectable infrastructure to be realized,
    and alas the future of that is what's in question.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From abelard@21:1/5 to All on Tue Mar 5 01:20:55 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Mon, 4 Mar 2024 17:54:54 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 9:16 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 20:09:53 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/3/24 9:44 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:17:29 -0000 (UTC), useapen
    <yourdime@outlook.com> wrote:

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964 >>>>> have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years, >>>>> with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a >>>>> record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone >>>>> will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today. >>>>
    we can easily meet any particular pension

    a lot is about choice
    we could all choose to walk or cycle

    read this from the '30s
    "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren." keynes
    (many coppies on the net)

    The UK is suffering from the same demographic crisis as
    much of the 1st world - drastic reduction in birthrates
    create a fatal gap ... no youth, no money, to support the
    older gens. The success of the 1st world after WW2 led
    people to believe they didn't need nine kids to protect
    them in their old age.

    And it was true ... for awhile.

    The very worst off is S.Korea - birthrate of 0.71 at last
    tally. Bare "replacement" is 2.1 per.

    Countries are importing 3rd-world people in droves - no
    matter how they frame it for political reasons - to try
    and cope. It may serve for one more gen, but much beyond
    that the original "nations/cultures" are DEAD, completely
    replaced by "the help".

    The UK does not have the money to boost the pension system,
    or the medical system, or much of ANY system. Like so many
    others it's been a debt economy for a long time - does not
    create enough product/profit to pay the bills and keeps
    falling further and further behind the curve.

    The pension system in the USA is also, technically, in huge
    debt. However there's a trick to that figure - the reason is
    that rather than create politically unpopular new taxes the
    pols kept borrowing from the pension fund - a "secret piggy
    bank" - where it would go unnoticed. Alas the USA is kind of
    in the same sort of boat as the UK, just not QUITE so close
    to sinking. Same factors involved though, same outcomes ensured.

    In any case, feet and bikes will not save the UK - indeed
    just make business less efficient. Unless a meteor wipes
    out China and India and FORCES the 1st-world to become
    self-sufficient again, well, they will be excavating and
    arguing about the downfall 5000 years from now. Will likely
    think Churchill took tea with Queen Boudica at The Shard :-)

    it isn't about money...it's about choices and technology

    there are now robot dogs being road tested as guide
    dogs for the blind

    They're crap - don't give one to a blind person
    unless you want them dead.

    aircraft once killed people

    soon cars will not require drivers...robots are being developed
    as carers

    Note the increasing tide of lawsuits and criminal cases
    and govt regs involving "self-driving" ("self-crashing")
    automobiles.

    Be it e-dogs or 'smart'cars, the tech ISN'T NEARLY THERE YET.

    Oh yea, what "AI" there IS means MASSIVE disemployment of

    a moment past you were complaining a shortage of people

    humans over the next 10-20 years - they'll be obsolete.
    How will they live ? Tax their previous employers much
    more and they'll go broke - no more money. Oh, and the
    final gotcha - disemployed people can't BUY much, so
    the hoped-for corporate savings will turn to ruin as
    nobody can buy their products.

    the world changes....it is not static with predictable outcomes

    the changes are everywhere

    Tech/"AI" is not gonna save western economies. Hell, they
    won't even be MAKING it ... just sending more money to
    China until something goes wrong in China and then we're
    all back to dung huts and the Plague .....

    Post-WW2, western economies over-invested plus created
    vast infrastructure that today's economic realities just
    cannot support. Profits turned to losses turned to
    impossible debts. These are "fantasy economies".

    Was looking at sat photos of the UK the other day. It
    is impressive (perhaps a bit sad) that there is very
    little 'nature' left - the rest is solid farms farms
    and more farms. Now we'd THINK that means that at least
    the UK won't starve when the Fantasy ends ... but note
    that farms aren't magic - they require lots of labor
    and "stuff", plus the goods require transport and safe
    storage and smooth exchange of money. Most of that
    requires respectable infrastructure to be realized,
    and alas the future of that is what's in question.

    we're all doomed....doomed i say

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From abelard@21:1/5 to All on Tue Mar 5 01:22:03 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Mon, 4 Mar 2024 17:07:05 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 10:28 AM, abelard wrote:


    abstract 'thinking' is the root cause of much mental disease

    "Abstract" thinking is a hallmark of our species,
    what "sets us apart".

    and what makes you mad

    And yea, we are kinda nuts.

    More fun ! :-)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From 63h.1504@21:1/5 to abelard on Mon Mar 4 23:19:54 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On 3/4/24 7:22 PM, abelard wrote:
    On Mon, 4 Mar 2024 17:07:05 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 10:28 AM, abelard wrote:


    abstract 'thinking' is the root cause of much mental disease

    "Abstract" thinking is a hallmark of our species,
    what "sets us apart".

    and what makes you mad


    Mad ? Mad ?? MAD ??? HaHaHaHaHa !!! :-)

    Oh well, if you want to be an oblivious worker bee,
    I suggest communism - and maybe a lobotomy.


    And yea, we are kinda nuts.

    More fun ! :-)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From 63h.1504@21:1/5 to abelard on Tue Mar 5 00:09:08 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On 3/4/24 7:20 PM, abelard wrote:
    On Mon, 4 Mar 2024 17:54:54 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 9:16 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 20:09:53 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/3/24 9:44 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:17:29 -0000 (UTC), useapen
    <yourdime@outlook.com> wrote:

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964 >>>>>> have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years, >>>>>> with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a >>>>>> record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone >>>>>> will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today. >>>>>
    we can easily meet any particular pension

    a lot is about choice
    we could all choose to walk or cycle

    read this from the '30s
    "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren." keynes
    (many coppies on the net)

    The UK is suffering from the same demographic crisis as
    much of the 1st world - drastic reduction in birthrates
    create a fatal gap ... no youth, no money, to support the
    older gens. The success of the 1st world after WW2 led
    people to believe they didn't need nine kids to protect
    them in their old age.

    And it was true ... for awhile.

    The very worst off is S.Korea - birthrate of 0.71 at last
    tally. Bare "replacement" is 2.1 per.

    Countries are importing 3rd-world people in droves - no
    matter how they frame it for political reasons - to try
    and cope. It may serve for one more gen, but much beyond
    that the original "nations/cultures" are DEAD, completely
    replaced by "the help".

    The UK does not have the money to boost the pension system,
    or the medical system, or much of ANY system. Like so many
    others it's been a debt economy for a long time - does not
    create enough product/profit to pay the bills and keeps
    falling further and further behind the curve.

    The pension system in the USA is also, technically, in huge
    debt. However there's a trick to that figure - the reason is
    that rather than create politically unpopular new taxes the
    pols kept borrowing from the pension fund - a "secret piggy
    bank" - where it would go unnoticed. Alas the USA is kind of
    in the same sort of boat as the UK, just not QUITE so close
    to sinking. Same factors involved though, same outcomes ensured.

    In any case, feet and bikes will not save the UK - indeed
    just make business less efficient. Unless a meteor wipes
    out China and India and FORCES the 1st-world to become
    self-sufficient again, well, they will be excavating and
    arguing about the downfall 5000 years from now. Will likely
    think Churchill took tea with Queen Boudica at The Shard :-)

    it isn't about money...it's about choices and technology

    there are now robot dogs being road tested as guide
    dogs for the blind

    They're crap - don't give one to a blind person
    unless you want them dead.

    aircraft once killed people


    Aircraft still kill people. City buses still kill people.
    Bicycles kill lots of people.

    Anyway, believe me, don't put your trust in
    an electric seeing-eye dog.


    soon cars will not require drivers...robots are being developed
    as carers

    Note the increasing tide of lawsuits and criminal cases
    and govt regs involving "self-driving" ("self-crashing")
    automobiles.

    Be it e-dogs or 'smart'cars, the tech ISN'T NEARLY THERE YET.

    Oh yea, what "AI" there IS means MASSIVE disemployment of

    a moment past you were complaining a shortage of people


    No "shortage of PEOPLE", yet - however a shortage of
    Brits/Americans/Japanese/Koreans/French/etc is decidedly
    in-progress. The thinking/cultures that built ideas like
    "rights"/"equality"/"justice" are thinning-out rapidly.

    Now a serious shortage of JOBS for "people" - THAT is
    the more immediate issue. "AI" will make MANY obsolete
    in the next 10-20 years. What happens to them ??? Seems
    nobody wants to hear that question.

    And no, "flower arranging" is NOT a real replacement.


    humans over the next 10-20 years - they'll be obsolete.
    How will they live ? Tax their previous employers much
    more and they'll go broke - no more money. Oh, and the
    final gotcha - disemployed people can't BUY much, so
    the hoped-for corporate savings will turn to ruin as
    nobody can buy their products.

    the world changes....it is not static with predictable outcomes

    the changes are everywhere

    Tech/"AI" is not gonna save western economies. Hell, they
    won't even be MAKING it ... just sending more money to
    China until something goes wrong in China and then we're
    all back to dung huts and the Plague .....

    Post-WW2, western economies over-invested plus created
    vast infrastructure that today's economic realities just
    cannot support. Profits turned to losses turned to
    impossible debts. These are "fantasy economies".

    Was looking at sat photos of the UK the other day. It
    is impressive (perhaps a bit sad) that there is very
    little 'nature' left - the rest is solid farms farms
    and more farms. Now we'd THINK that means that at least
    the UK won't starve when the Fantasy ends ... but note
    that farms aren't magic - they require lots of labor
    and "stuff", plus the goods require transport and safe
    storage and smooth exchange of money. Most of that
    requires respectable infrastructure to be realized,
    and alas the future of that is what's in question.

    we're all doomed....doomed i say

    SOME are 'doomed' - the rest ... well ... that might
    get kinda ugly and depressing.

    So, how much Soylent Green can YOU afford ?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From abelard@21:1/5 to All on Tue Mar 5 13:51:36 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Tue, 5 Mar 2024 00:09:08 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 7:20 PM, abelard wrote:
    On Mon, 4 Mar 2024 17:54:54 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 9:16 AM, abelard wrote:

    it isn't about money...it's about choices and technology

    there are now robot dogs being road tested as guide
    dogs for the blind

    They're crap - don't give one to a blind person
    unless you want them dead.

    aircraft once killed people


    Aircraft still kill people. City buses still kill people.
    Bicycles kill lots of people.

    Anyway, believe me, don't put your trust in
    an electric seeing-eye dog.


    you have a confused mind

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Siri Cruise@21:1/5 to abelard on Tue Mar 5 05:01:50 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    abelard wrote:
    aircraft once killed people

    Aircraft still kill people. City buses still kill people.
    Bicycles kill lots of people.

    Anyway, believe me, don't put your trust in
    an electric seeing-eye dog.

    you have a confused mind



    Aircraft don't use AI. AI creates programs randomly until one
    seems to work. The code is not something you can reason about and
    so can't be used in safety critical tasks.

    It useful for creating filters to narrow a search with humans then
    inspecting the results. Even then since the filters can't be
    reasonned about, they exclude results without notice. Look at
    social media where people are always complaining about suppression.

    --
    Siri Seal of Disavowal #000-001. Disavowed. Denied. @
    'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' /|\
    The Church of the Holey Apple .signature 3.2 / \
    of Discordian Mysteries. This post insults Islam. Mohamed

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From abelard@21:1/5 to chine.bleu@www.yahoo.com on Tue Mar 5 15:36:47 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Tue, 5 Mar 2024 05:01:50 -0800, Siri Cruise
    <chine.bleu@www.yahoo.com> wrote:

    abelard wrote:
    aircraft once killed people

    Aircraft still kill people. City buses still kill people.
    Bicycles kill lots of people.

    Anyway, believe me, don't put your trust in
    an electric seeing-eye dog.

    you have a confused mind



    Aircraft don't use AI. AI creates programs randomly until one
    seems to work. The code is not something you can reason about and
    so can't be used in safety critical tasks.

    It useful for creating filters to narrow a search with humans then
    inspecting the results. Even then since the filters can't be
    reasonned about, they exclude results without notice. Look at
    social media where people are always complaining about suppression

    no argument from me

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From abelard@21:1/5 to All on Tue Mar 5 16:06:47 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Tue, 5 Mar 2024 12:41:46 -0000 (UTC), Incubus <u9536612@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    On 2024-03-04, 63h.1504 <63h.1503@f3t3w.net> wrote:
    On 3/3/24 9:44 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:17:29 -0000 (UTC), useapen
    <yourdime@outlook.com> wrote:

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964 >>>> have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years, >>>> with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a >>>> record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone >>>> will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today. >>>
    we can easily meet any particular pension

    a lot is about choice
    we could all choose to walk or cycle

    read this from the '30s
    "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren." keynes
    (many coppies on the net)

    The UK is suffering from the same demographic crisis as
    much of the 1st world - drastic reduction in birthrates
    create a fatal gap ... no youth, no money, to support the
    older gens. The success of the 1st world after WW2 led
    people to believe they didn't need nine kids to protect
    them in their old age.

    And it was true ... for awhile.

    The very worst off is S.Korea - birthrate of 0.71 at last
    tally. Bare "replacement" is 2.1 per.

    Countries are importing 3rd-world people in droves - no
    matter how they frame it for political reasons - to try
    and cope. It may serve for one more gen, but much beyond
    that the original "nations/cultures" are DEAD, completely
    replaced by "the help".

    In addition to such racial and cultural vandalism, it doesn't seem to
    occur to them that the people they import to boost the population will
    also one day grow old and receive state benefits and need to be paid
    for.

    It's a state-sponsored pyramid scheme, as is fiat currency.

    e f russell did a short story on the drudges (taxi drivers,
    launderers etc) replacing an advanced civilisation

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From 63h.1507@21:1/5 to abelard on Tue Mar 5 15:07:10 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On 3/5/24 7:51 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Tue, 5 Mar 2024 00:09:08 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 7:20 PM, abelard wrote:
    On Mon, 4 Mar 2024 17:54:54 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 9:16 AM, abelard wrote:

    it isn't about money...it's about choices and technology

    there are now robot dogs being road tested as guide
    dogs for the blind

    They're crap - don't give one to a blind person
    unless you want them dead.

    aircraft once killed people


    Aircraft still kill people. City buses still kill people.
    Bicycles kill lots of people.

    Anyway, believe me, don't put your trust in
    an electric seeing-eye dog.


    you have a confused mind


    I'm a tech geek - I know the reality, and the hype,
    about these sorts of gadgets. You could too - the
    net is absolutely awash in tekkie stuff.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From 63h.1507@21:1/5 to Incubus on Tue Mar 5 15:51:48 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On 3/5/24 7:41 AM, Incubus wrote:
    On 2024-03-04, 63h.1504 <63h.1503@f3t3w.net> wrote:
    On 3/3/24 9:44 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:17:29 -0000 (UTC), useapen
    <yourdime@outlook.com> wrote:

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964 >>>> have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years, >>>> with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a >>>> record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone >>>> will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today. >>>
    we can easily meet any particular pension

    a lot is about choice
    we could all choose to walk or cycle

    read this from the '30s
    "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren." keynes
    (many coppies on the net)

    The UK is suffering from the same demographic crisis as
    much of the 1st world - drastic reduction in birthrates
    create a fatal gap ... no youth, no money, to support the
    older gens. The success of the 1st world after WW2 led
    people to believe they didn't need nine kids to protect
    them in their old age.

    And it was true ... for awhile.

    The very worst off is S.Korea - birthrate of 0.71 at last
    tally. Bare "replacement" is 2.1 per.

    Countries are importing 3rd-world people in droves - no
    matter how they frame it for political reasons - to try
    and cope. It may serve for one more gen, but much beyond
    that the original "nations/cultures" are DEAD, completely
    replaced by "the help".

    In addition to such racial and cultural vandalism, it doesn't seem to
    occur to them that the people they import to boost the population will
    also one day grow old and receive state benefits and need to be paid
    for.

    It's a state-sponsored pyramid scheme, as is fiat currency.


    Correct, it's a pyramid scheme - sponsored by desperate
    'leaders' to stretch things out a LITTLE longer (until
    their golden parachutes are polished and packed).

    The imported "help" will now soon become so dominant that
    whatever the 'character' of the UK or France or many others,
    that will cease to be. Those countries will take on the
    character of the ones the "help" FLED from.

    No babies = No Country. Thousands of years down the drain.
    Population-replacements are nothing new, but this is a
    world connected on so many levels that it may all fall
    down. The higher you are ...

    I've checked-around for a long time and found NO kind of
    economy that works in a demographic inversion. ALL require
    more young than old - 'do-ers', earners, taxpayers. Even
    more/better robots won't solve this, just delay the
    collapse for a little longer.

    No, the species will not die out entirely - places
    where women are still "handmaids", seen as Baby
    Machines, will persist. Maybe not a NICE sort of
    existence though - filthy huts and plagues. Not
    much of a way 'up' either since we've used up all
    the ready natural resources ...

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From abelard@21:1/5 to All on Tue Mar 5 23:56:07 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Tue, 5 Mar 2024 15:51:48 -0500, "63h.1507" <63h.1506@f3t4w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/5/24 7:41 AM, Incubus wrote:
    On 2024-03-04, 63h.1504 <63h.1503@f3t3w.net> wrote:
    On 3/3/24 9:44 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:17:29 -0000 (UTC), useapen
    <yourdime@outlook.com> wrote:

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964 >>>>> have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years, >>>>> with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a >>>>> record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone >>>>> will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today. >>>>
    we can easily meet any particular pension

    a lot is about choice
    we could all choose to walk or cycle

    read this from the '30s
    "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren." keynes
    (many coppies on the net)

    The UK is suffering from the same demographic crisis as
    much of the 1st world - drastic reduction in birthrates
    create a fatal gap ... no youth, no money, to support the
    older gens. The success of the 1st world after WW2 led
    people to believe they didn't need nine kids to protect
    them in their old age.

    And it was true ... for awhile.

    The very worst off is S.Korea - birthrate of 0.71 at last
    tally. Bare "replacement" is 2.1 per.

    Countries are importing 3rd-world people in droves - no
    matter how they frame it for political reasons - to try
    and cope. It may serve for one more gen, but much beyond
    that the original "nations/cultures" are DEAD, completely
    replaced by "the help".

    In addition to such racial and cultural vandalism, it doesn't seem to
    occur to them that the people they import to boost the population will
    also one day grow old and receive state benefits and need to be paid
    for.

    It's a state-sponsored pyramid scheme, as is fiat currency.


    Correct, it's a pyramid scheme - sponsored by desperate
    'leaders' to stretch things out a LITTLE longer (until
    their golden parachutes are polished and packed).

    The imported "help" will now soon become so dominant that
    whatever the 'character' of the UK or France or many others,
    that will cease to be. Those countries will take on the
    character of the ones the "help" FLED from.

    No babies = No Country. Thousands of years down the drain.
    Population-replacements are nothing new, but this is a
    world connected on so many levels that it may all fall
    down. The higher you are ...

    I've checked-around for a long time and found NO kind of
    economy that works in a demographic inversion. ALL require
    more young than old - 'do-ers', earners, taxpayers. Even
    more/better robots won't solve this, just delay the
    collapse for a little longer.

    No, the species will not die out entirely - places
    where women are still "handmaids", seen as Baby
    Machines, will persist. Maybe not a NICE sort of
    existence though - filthy huts and plagues. Not
    much of a way 'up' either since we've used up all
    the ready natural resources ...

    it's all vanished in a puff

    you don't understand evolution either

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From abelard@21:1/5 to All on Tue Mar 5 23:39:42 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Tue, 5 Mar 2024 15:07:10 -0500, "63h.1507" <63h.1506@f3t4w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/5/24 7:51 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Tue, 5 Mar 2024 00:09:08 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 7:20 PM, abelard wrote:
    On Mon, 4 Mar 2024 17:54:54 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 9:16 AM, abelard wrote:

    it isn't about money...it's about choices and technology

    there are now robot dogs being road tested as guide
    dogs for the blind

    They're crap - don't give one to a blind person
    unless you want them dead.

    aircraft once killed people


    Aircraft still kill people. City buses still kill people.
    Bicycles kill lots of people.

    Anyway, believe me, don't put your trust in
    an electric seeing-eye dog.

    you have a confused mind

    I'm a tech geek - I know the reality,

    you don't...you know theory

    and the hype
    about these sorts of gadgets. You could too - the
    net is absolutely awash in tekkie stuff.

    programmes are primarily constructced of generalisations

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From 63h.1507@21:1/5 to abelard on Tue Mar 5 18:29:03 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On 3/5/24 5:39 PM, abelard wrote:
    On Tue, 5 Mar 2024 15:07:10 -0500, "63h.1507" <63h.1506@f3t4w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/5/24 7:51 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Tue, 5 Mar 2024 00:09:08 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 7:20 PM, abelard wrote:
    On Mon, 4 Mar 2024 17:54:54 -0500, "63h.1504" <63h.1503@f3t3w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/4/24 9:16 AM, abelard wrote:

    it isn't about money...it's about choices and technology

    there are now robot dogs being road tested as guide
    dogs for the blind

    They're crap - don't give one to a blind person
    unless you want them dead.

    aircraft once killed people


    Aircraft still kill people. City buses still kill people.
    Bicycles kill lots of people.

    Anyway, believe me, don't put your trust in
    an electric seeing-eye dog.

    you have a confused mind

    I'm a tech geek - I know the reality,

    you don't...you know theory

    They paid me 40+ years for the reality part ...

    and the hype
    about these sorts of gadgets. You could too - the
    net is absolutely awash in tekkie stuff.

    programmes are primarily constructced of generalisations

    No - they are constructed of very exact operations. You
    can combine said operations to create "generalizations"
    of various kinds if you desire. That can actually be
    kind of a pain in the ass sometimes - creating
    inexactitudes from operations so exact.

    Start with :
    https://www.w3schools.com/python/

    For a "high level" programming language or :
    https://www.tutorialspoint.com/assembly_programming/index.htm

    For the nuts & bolts that high-level language becomes
    once fully processed. There ARE levels below that in
    most modern CPUs :
    https://www.iro.umontreal.ca/~dift1213/Slides/microcode.pdf

    The Truth Is Out There

    But I'm beginning to wonder if you REALLY want to
    find it .....

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From 63h.1507@21:1/5 to abelard on Tue Mar 5 18:55:06 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On 3/5/24 5:56 PM, abelard wrote:
    On Tue, 5 Mar 2024 15:51:48 -0500, "63h.1507" <63h.1506@f3t4w.net>
    wrote:

    On 3/5/24 7:41 AM, Incubus wrote:
    On 2024-03-04, 63h.1504 <63h.1503@f3t3w.net> wrote:
    On 3/3/24 9:44 AM, abelard wrote:
    On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:17:29 -0000 (UTC), useapen
    <yourdime@outlook.com> wrote:

    The last Baby Boomer turns 60 this year. Many born between 1946 and 1964 >>>>>> have already retired, and millions more will follow in the coming years, >>>>>> with the number of people reaching state pension age forecast to hit a >>>>>> record 800,000 in 2028 for the first time. By then the earliest anyone >>>>>> will be able to claim their state pension will be 67, up from 66 today. >>>>>
    we can easily meet any particular pension

    a lot is about choice
    we could all choose to walk or cycle

    read this from the '30s
    "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren." keynes
    (many coppies on the net)

    The UK is suffering from the same demographic crisis as
    much of the 1st world - drastic reduction in birthrates
    create a fatal gap ... no youth, no money, to support the
    older gens. The success of the 1st world after WW2 led
    people to believe they didn't need nine kids to protect
    them in their old age.

    And it was true ... for awhile.

    The very worst off is S.Korea - birthrate of 0.71 at last
    tally. Bare "replacement" is 2.1 per.

    Countries are importing 3rd-world people in droves - no
    matter how they frame it for political reasons - to try
    and cope. It may serve for one more gen, but much beyond
    that the original "nations/cultures" are DEAD, completely
    replaced by "the help".

    In addition to such racial and cultural vandalism, it doesn't seem to
    occur to them that the people they import to boost the population will
    also one day grow old and receive state benefits and need to be paid
    for.

    It's a state-sponsored pyramid scheme, as is fiat currency.


    Correct, it's a pyramid scheme - sponsored by desperate
    'leaders' to stretch things out a LITTLE longer (until
    their golden parachutes are polished and packed).

    The imported "help" will now soon become so dominant that
    whatever the 'character' of the UK or France or many others,
    that will cease to be. Those countries will take on the
    character of the ones the "help" FLED from.

    No babies = No Country. Thousands of years down the drain.
    Population-replacements are nothing new, but this is a
    world connected on so many levels that it may all fall
    down. The higher you are ...

    I've checked-around for a long time and found NO kind of
    economy that works in a demographic inversion. ALL require
    more young than old - 'do-ers', earners, taxpayers. Even
    more/better robots won't solve this, just delay the
    collapse for a little longer.

    No, the species will not die out entirely - places
    where women are still "handmaids", seen as Baby
    Machines, will persist. Maybe not a NICE sort of
    existence though - filthy huts and plagues. Not
    much of a way 'up' either since we've used up all
    the ready natural resources ...

    it's all vanished in a puff

    "Puffs" can be seconds or centuries or millennia ...

    For 'western-style' civ - I'm guessing about 40 years.
    Today's youth will be too old to become parents by then
    so there'll be too few kiddies to fill in, carry on.
    'Eastern-style' civ in much the same boat. Afghan
    goatherds, deep-rurals in India and S.America, they'll
    stick around.

    you don't understand evolution either

    Got Chuckie D on my shelf ...

    Dawkins too ...

    Want a lecture on what "fittest" really means ?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Phil Hendry's Chop shop@21:1/5 to Siri Cruise on Wed Apr 10 15:20:19 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Tue, 5 Mar 2024 05:01:50 -0800
    Siri Cruise <chine.bleu@www.yahoo.com> wrote:

    abelard wrote:
    aircraft once killed people

    Aircraft still kill people. City buses still kill people.
    Bicycles kill lots of people.

    Anyway, believe me, don't put your trust in
    an electric seeing-eye dog.

    you have a confused mind



    Aircraft don't use AI.

    BULLSHIT LIE!

    https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2023-06-14/beyond-automation-how-ai-transforming-aviation

    June 14, 2023
    More than a century after the invention of the autopilot, aerospace engineers are still working to bring more automated processes into aircraft cockpits to enhance safety, increase efficiency, and reduce pilot workload. With the help of artificial
    intelligence (AI), autopilot technology has evolved from simple devices that maintain an aircraft’s altitude and heading to fully autonomous flight control systems capable of performing gate-to-gate operations without any human input.

    One way or another, almost every aerospace and defense company
    exhibiting at this year's Paris Air Show increasingly is looking to
    exploit the potential for AI to improve their aircraft and other
    systems. This ubiquitous and rapidly morphing technology sphere likely
    will show a high profile at several forward-looking events during the
    main show. They include the Paris Air Lab, which concentrates on
    ensuring aviation's sustainable future, and the Avion de MĂ©tiers
    sessions, meant to lure young technologists into an industry that
    stands to learn much about AI from other sectors, such as automotive manufacturing.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Phil Hendry's Chop shop@21:1/5 to Governor Swill on Wed Apr 10 15:21:42 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Mon, 04 Mar 2024 22:40:28 -0500
    Governor Swill <governor.swill@gmail.com> wrote:

    Nothing strikes terror into the heart of a conservative more than
    change.
    Let's get together and share some shamrock shakes - what say you
    little man ball?

    https://whiteysjollykone.com/

    1300 Jefferson Blvd, West Sacramento, CA 95691
    Sunday
    Closed
    Monday
    Closed
    Tuesday
    11:00AM - 7:00PM
    Wednesday
    11:00AM - 7:00PM
    Thursday
    11:00AM - 7:00PM
    Friday
    11:00AM - 7:00PM
    Saturday
    11:00AM - 7:00PM


    Not too far a drive for ya is it?

    Pick a day and time - you gutless, flabby little queer.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Phil Hendry's Chop shop@21:1/5 to Governor Swill on Wed Apr 10 15:18:17 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Tue, 05 Mar 2024 20:52:31 -0500
    Governor Swill <governor.swill@gmail.com> wrote:

    It might push the wrong button on the elevator and send you careening
    to the basement.
    Let's get together and share some shamrock shakes - what say you
    little man ball?

    https://whiteysjollykone.com/

    1300 Jefferson Blvd, West Sacramento, CA 95691
    Sunday
    Closed
    Monday
    Closed
    Tuesday
    11:00AM - 7:00PM
    Wednesday
    11:00AM - 7:00PM
    Thursday
    11:00AM - 7:00PM
    Friday
    11:00AM - 7:00PM
    Saturday
    11:00AM - 7:00PM


    Not too far a drive for ya is it?

    Pick a day and time - you gutless, flabby little queer.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From 68hx.1805@21:1/5 to Phil Hendry's Chop shop on Thu Apr 11 03:00:16 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On 4/10/24 5:18 PM, Phil Hendry's Chop shop wrote:
    On Tue, 05 Mar 2024 20:52:31 -0500
    Governor Swill <governor.swill@gmail.com> wrote:

    It might push the wrong button on the elevator and send you careening
    to the basement.
    Let's get together and share some shamrock shakes - what say you
    little man ball?

    Hey, the UK *is* in the crapper ... the "free money"
    election trick has BROKEN any possible system. Soon
    there can be no pensions or 'socialized' anything
    and it'll all come crashing down hard and it'll all
    be woad-painted barbarians again.

    Russia will "take mercy" and seize control ...

    The Brit "left" will think that's GREAT - until they
    find they're the first ones put up against the wall.

    In the USA. the "social security" system is technically
    far FAR more than broke. However it isn't because the
    system is inherently bad or unsupportable - but because,
    to hide de-facto tax increases, govt has been "borrowing"
    from the fund for 50+ years. If you don't SEE the tax
    and spending problem then it doesn't exist, right ???

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Phil Hendry's Chop shop@21:1/5 to 68hx.1804@g5t7x.net on Sun Apr 14 12:42:43 2024
    XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.society.liberalism
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Thu, 11 Apr 2024 03:00:16 -0400
    "68hx.1805" <68hx.1804@g5t7x.net> wrote:

    On 4/10/24 5:18 PM, Phil Hendry's Chop shop wrote:
    On Tue, 05 Mar 2024 20:52:31 -0500
    Governor Swill <governor.swill@gmail.com> wrote:

    It might push the wrong button on the elevator and send you
    careening to the basement.
    Let's get together and share some shamrock shakes - what say you
    little man ball?

    Hey, the UK *is* in the crapper ... the "free money"
    election trick has BROKEN any possible system. Soon
    there can be no pensions or 'socialized' anything
    and it'll all come crashing down hard and it'll all
    be woad-painted barbarians again.

    Yep.

    Russia will "take mercy" and seize control ...

    The Brit "left" will think that's GREAT - until they
    find they're the first ones put up against the wall.

    Brits tend to die easily when invaded.

    In the USA. the "social security" system is technically
    far FAR more than broke. However it isn't because the
    system is inherently bad or unsupportable - but because,
    to hide de-facto tax increases, govt has been "borrowing"
    from the fund for 50+ years. If you don't SEE the tax
    and spending problem then it doesn't exist, right ???

    All we pay for with our tax$$ now is some of the interest upon some
    of the interest, upon...

    No bonded principal figures will ever be retired nor seen again.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)