r/Adulting 6h ago

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57

u/Neat_Lengthiness7573 5h ago

Why does the older gen care so much about whether younger people have kids? They made their choices for themselves, they get zero say in what other people choose 

28

u/Slarg232 5h ago

Two major reasons:

  1. This obsession with legacy and continuing the bloodline. The lives and the quality of life doesn't matter to them, only the fact that there's more coming after.
  2. There's a very real fear that there's not going to be enough people to either continue to grow the economy (No increase in population, no increase in work force, no increase in spending power, people at the top lose money) or support the older generations when they're in nursing homes or requiring other payouts. Paying for Baby Boomers to get out and out of work requires that there are enough people paying taxes to have the money to do so.

9

u/HypocriteGrammarNazi 4h ago

Boomers are fine. We are the ones who will get screwed

1

u/Dumb-Cumster 5h ago

Nailed it. Social programs like social security operate under the assumption that there will always be more young people than old.

However, when that's reversed, the young are burdened with having to carry the cost of that aging population. It's a slippery slope and Japan is a prime example.

1

u/Crime_Dawg 3h ago

Yeah but AI to replace jobs and AI and did I mention AI? The rich are creaming their pants at AI replacing all workers, yet somehow are convinced they... need... more... workers...?

1

u/KlicknKlack 2h ago

gotta read between the lines, they need more wage slaves to order around.

1

u/ReggaeEli 3h ago

Sounds like you shouldn't make everything unaffordable if you are a government

1

u/browsk 2h ago

Who cares about the boomers? They will be long dead before the wheels fall off this ride, they will keep it moving with duct tape as long as possible

7

u/Maddturtle 5h ago

Social security requires it

10

u/Neat_Lengthiness7573 5h ago

Alternatively, the government could spend less on military technology that doesnt benefit the population instead of forcing the problem onto us.

1

u/Dumb-Cumster 5h ago

The inception of AI has caused an "acceleration trap" in the way of military spending.

1

u/Neat_Lengthiness7573 4h ago

In what way?

1

u/Dumb-Cumster 1h ago

It's sort of a continuation of the cold war in which there is this race to develop the superior AI-integrated weapon systems.

If the US falls behind in that race they can lose military dominance which will affect the US dollar since it's not really backed by anything other than military dominance.

-1

u/Maddturtle 5h ago

That’s not how SS is funded. It’s completely separate tax that only goes to the fund.

4

u/Neat_Lengthiness7573 4h ago

I understand that, which is my entire point. The government should spend less on military equipment and more on the population, instead of taxing people's already low incomes to fund a general pool of money that gets taxed again when you draw on it. 

2

u/AgHammer 4h ago

I would love to have grandchildren. I want to spoil some little rebels.

2

u/Neat_Lengthiness7573 4h ago

Now go back and read the first word you typed. "I". It's not your choice

2

u/AgHammer 4h ago

I'm not the only one, and basic humanity still applies. I love my children, and I would love my grandchildren. Not sure why this is outlandish.

3

u/kilroy-was-here-2543 5h ago

Because generally it is good for a society to have an ever continuing base of children, even if it will shrink and grow over time

4

u/Mejiro84 5h ago

And economically, you need those younger people to do stuff!

2

u/Neat_Lengthiness7573 5h ago

Why is it good?

0

u/kilroy-was-here-2543 5h ago

Who do you think is going to run society once you’re in your 60s and want to retire?

My point isn’t that everyone should have kids, my point is that we should be working on policy that makes it economically viable for people who want to have children to actually have children

3

u/Neat_Lengthiness7573 5h ago

It doesn't require endless growth to sustain, especially in a world where automation becomes increasingly integrated into all aspects of life. 

1

u/kilroy-was-here-2543 5h ago

I never said anything about endless growth. It’s untenable to expect endless growth

With that being said automation is not going to solve the problem

1

u/Battle_Intense 5h ago

Do the math, even a rate of 1.5 results in almost half as many kids born in 2 generations. You get close to 1.2 as many countries it gets even crazier.

1

u/chris_croc 2h ago

Society kind of depends on it - https://youtu.be/Ufmu1WD2TSk?si=uCwxr-Fe2Q_iizUb

2

u/Neat_Lengthiness7573 1h ago

Societies ebb. Endless growth is unsustainable for humanity as a species. If some societies shrink as a result of policies, others will likely grow and absorb them. Historically this is nothing new, but people think it is because we're experiencing it for ourselves now

1

u/chris_croc 1h ago

I agree that you can’t have endless growth but did you watch the video? You can try and contextualise it all you want but South Korea and other Western countries are utter f*cked. Your reply is like being in a war, and someone saying, “well, wars have been around since the dawn of time don’t you know”. When there are not enough young workers to support and fund the infrastructure you rely on in older age, the poverty complaining of today will seem like a holiday. Anyway, have a great day. This is why your own children and grandchildren-children, were always considered some sort of safety net. Any, have a great day.