How many old people can the world support?

[Pappa]

Can anyone provide evidence that the old are a net drain on recources?

[Feck]

Fark Kevin just kill the depressed too ..I mean who needs them wandering around being all miserable If they are not happy just givem a suicide pill and encourage them to go too .

[GreyICE]

Can anyone provide evidence that the old are a net drain on recources?

Okay, that? That's really easy.

http://www.ahrq.gov/research/ria19/expendria.htm

The elderly account for 36% of the health care expenditures. The elderly account for 13% of the population. Many of them are retired.

I think this is an excellent argument for quality of life extension and greater retrofitting and preparation for aging, rather than our current philosophy of sticking our fingers in our ears whenever someone suggests improving the human body, then doing heroic efforts to try and fix it as the shitty design falls to pieces.

Others think it's an excellent argument to kill them.

[Rob]

IF you want to control the population, control the birthrate. Its far easier to convince people to to adopt planned parenthood than to convince people that health care should be cut at a certain age. And further more this is the only life I have to live, once I'm dead, my existence is gone. Fuck you and fuck anyone for that matter who thinks they have the right to terminate my only life prematurely.

[Feck]

IF you want to control the population, control the birthrate. Its far easier to convince people to to adopt planned parenthood than to convince people that health care should be cut at a certain age. And further more this is the only life I have to live, once I'm dead, my existence is gone. Fuck you and fuck anyone for that matter who thinks they have the right to terminate my only life prematurely.

[Atheist-Lite]

The old cannot reproduce whilst the young can. This is important. I'm not sure everyone is thinking in the right terms here. The point is to produce a sustainable and adaptable society which by necessity must curtail the upper age range - sayig nothing about the lower age range since the hostile environement we are likely to encounter over the next two ro thee centuries has yet ot be defined....and neither has its toll on human life.

[Rum]

The old cannot reproduce whilst the young can. This is important. I'm not sure everyone is thinking in the right terms here. The point is to produce a sustainable and adaptable society which by necessity must curtail the upper age range - sayig nothing about the lower age range since the hostile environement we are likely to encounter over the next two ro thee centuries has yet ot be defined....and neither has its toll on human life.

I continue to be astonished by this thread and some of the omnipotent thinking being displayed. Firstly it isn't remotely practical as a strategy, secondly the ethics are a total non-starter and thirdly euthanasia of Kevin would clearly result in a bigger reduction in the burden on the planet's resources - particularly savings in the hot air department.

[BrettA]

The old cannot reproduce whilst the young can. This is important...

There ya go - you're finally on the right track as far as overpopulation goes. Cull the young at whatever level you'd like prior to their breeding and you get both them and any off-sprogs they might have otherwise created, plus those of any of their (hypothetical) future generations, forever more. Vastly more efficient and effective than killing old folk who won't be producing more anyway (or not many). Still, please go first .

[Pappa]

Can anyone provide evidence that the old are a net drain on recources?

Okay, that? That's really easy.

http://www.ahrq.gov/research/ria19/expendria.htm

The elderly account for 36% of the health care expenditures. The elderly account for 13% of the population. Many of them are retired.

I think this is an excellent argument for quality of life extension and greater retrofitting and preparation for aging, rather than our current philosophy of sticking our fingers in our ears whenever someone suggests improving the human body, then doing heroic efforts to try and fix it as the shitty design falls to pieces.

Others think it's an excellent argument to kill them.

That doesn't prove a net drain.

[Atheist-Lite]

The demographic is different in each country so policies need to reflect the most efficient means of producing a global reduction in population whilst at the same time removing the old hair. This needs a different policy for each country and a different policy between first, second and third world countries to be fair and ethical.

[GreyICE]

That doesn't prove a net drain.

Oooookaaayyyy....

[Pappa]

That doesn't prove a net drain.

Oooookaaayyyy....

It only covers heath care expenditure. It doesn't cover everything they add and remove from the economy, only a small subset of it.

[GreyICE]

That doesn't prove a net drain.

Oooookaaayyyy....

It only covers heath care expenditure. It doesn't cover everything they add and remove from the economy, only a small subset of it.

Okay, let me put this in context. 20% of the American population above the age of 65 is employed. America? Bit of a giant standout from, say, Europe, where it hovers between, oh, 0-3% for the most part.

Hence the facepalms. Failing that way, kinda intense.

If we want to keep extending life, we have to keep extending quality of life. It's just as important, if not more, and it's really not hard to see.

[Atheist-Lite]

There is ging to be a massive dementia increase in the coming decades in part because of the poor lifestyle choices of those growing older today. Why should a future generation be burdened with millions of living husks who do nothing except dribble and show anger at a world they no longer comprehend? Should this mass of future zombie people be allowed to cripple a health service just when we require strong, energetic and motivated youth to focus on a array of ecological disasters driven by climate change? Wouldn't a cognitive ability test and a lethal injection save potentialy both future lives and our future?

[Loki]

Funny how no-one wants to put their own demographic up for sacrifice.

Euthanasing all Kevin's would of course make a sizeable impression on unnecessary waste, they would naturally see how rational the suggestion is.

The facts are given the choice in a reasoned and sensible way most will make the right choice.

Do this in a way which appeals to the natural responsibility of the average Kevin and they will know the right thing to do.