rockbier1218
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User ID: 1794
rockbier1218
8d ago
I have the misfortune of seeing this within my own family.
You’re right that there is no easy solution, given that lifespans have never been this long we have zero idea as a species how to handle this state of affairs where people can be massive drains on society at large from the age of 65-95 (or longer)
I am becoming more and more of a single issue “voter” on the topic of gerontocracy. In quotes because there is no party in the United States that is not actively trying to grow it and give more money to old people at the expense of the young.
In New York there is something called STAR tax relief for homeowners. Households making less than 500k/year get a yearly check that serves as relief for school taxes you pay as a homeowner. If you are over 65, you are a special citizen who gets extra money (means tested at 110k/year, but there’s no such extra relief for younger people who make less than 110k, and yearly income is not really as relevant for older people who don’t need to save for retirement, have probably already raised kids or don’t have any, probably have paid off a mortgage, don’t need to save for a kids college fund, have likely already accrued wealth such that income is effectively meaningless, I could go on). Why? Why do these people get extra money at my expense? It’s supremely unjust and makes no rational sense, other than pandering to a large voting bloc. Pure politics that flies totally under the radar. And our entire society is riddled with handouts like this. Combine this with falling birth rates, higher life expectancy, etc. I feel like a good 70-80% of economic malaise and existential issues facing America could be resolved or greatly ameliorated by just cutting this shit entirely.
Of course it makes sense, boomers are a massive cohort and old people have most of the wealth, and they vote. And for some reason young people seem completely oblivious as to how much of their taxes flow to the old, and suggesting you redistribute this somewhat triggers empathy and accusations of killing your sweet grandma. In some ways this issue is much harder to actively build a coalition around because almost all of us have elderly relatives around and we all expect to one day be in their position and wouldn’t it be nice to retire and have the government pay for everything when we do?
rockbier1218
16d ago
I also did the 30-year + aggressive payoff schedule (trending to 15 years and maybe less if family members die and I receive expected inheritance).
Keep in mind you do get to deduct mortgage interest paid, so if you are able to itemize deductions (should be more likely with SALT cap increasing to 40k) it works out to something more like 3-4% effective interest paid. Not bad if you want the flexibility and lower mandatory payments.
rockbier1218
10mo ago
I think the modal American at this point has just had enough of the velocity of the demographic changes. And the short-term lockout effect where we seem to be importing the upper middle class rather than growing our own natives into it. Long-term it’s probably true that this kind of immigration is good for the economy and makes the pie larger for everybody, but it’s just too much too fast. Every professional job given to an immigrant is a loss for an American that could have grown into it, and god forbid the company actually trains people into it.
So I don’t really care about these immigrants, many of them my coworkers, who I agree are clean and relatively polite, orderly, etc. I want America to feel American, these people do not feel American, they are civil but distinctly not American.
My 22-year old cousin joined the wave of CS grads and had an absolutely brutal time finding a job. He’s probably not FAANG-level but he can absolutely do any of the bullshit WITCH jobs or be a database maintainer for some bank or insurance company. He was ready to go be a car mechanic like his father until he was lucky enough to get a bank to hire him on a temp basis about one year after he graduated. In real-time, this is the cost of the H1B program and the disgusting fraud associated with it. A young man, born in America, trying to better himself through education so he can be better than his car mechanic father, and he had to scratch and claw to find a temporary CS job in the 21st century in America despite being 100% capable because we somehow decided actually millions of dudes from India were necessary instead. Now play this out on a widespread scale in the aggregate and we see how damaging this shit actually is.
rockbier1218
10mo ago
Chinese demographics are much worse than the US, I’m pretty sure they are sub-1 fertility rate and have been for years at this point. Sure the population is large but if half of their population is 50+ they are long-term not going to turn into some superpower
rockbier1218
10mo ago
True, but I think the tradeoff is worth it at this point. Notwithstanding the negative externalities on societal cohesion as a whole, the culture that sprung up around the Indian H1B scam factory is so fucking toxic for the tech industry. America is not only the innovation factory because we draw the best and the brightest, but because of the unique entrepreneurial culture that prizes outside the box thinking.
The Indians bring their rote memorization culture with them. Of course there are the entrepreneurs among them as well who come here and push that culture along, but let’s be honest 90+% are just people-pleasing corporate ass-coverers who also happen to have a millennia-long tradition of built-in discrimination deep in their bones. Enough already, the industry is hardly recognizable as American anymore.
rockbier1218
11mo ago
Thanks for the write-up, great read.
What was your playlist?
rockbier1218
11mo ago
I also like Past Lives and was excited for the movie but felt it was a snooze fest.
I think the main problem is simply that Dakota Johnson is not charismatic enough or good enough of an actor to be a leading lady in this kind of rom-com/drama. I also agree on Chris Evans being miscast, although he’s a much better actor than Johnson.
It’s maybe a bit of an unfair comparison but imagine this same film with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, the rom-com duo par excellence; you may actually have a fantastic movie.
Recently I’ve been on a rom-com kick and watching many of the old and new classics. Notting Hill, a movie with the aforementioned pairing, is completely ludicrous and when examined in depth the script is somewhat lackluster and the cinematography is nothing special. But when you have the equivalent of Ali vs. Tyson as the main event then nothing else matters.
For romantic movies the chemistry of the duo or love triangle is essential. Without it even the script of, say, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, or When Harry Met Sally won’t be enough to make the movie good.
Dalrymple is like AC/DC in that they only write and play one song with a thousand small variations, but what a song!
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