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In your opinion have things become worse the past 10 years?

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Jacoby
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05 Dec 2015, 11:55 pm

I don't think there is really a question as far as our overall well being all tho there has been progress on a lot of fronts. Heading towards a cliff.



KagamineLen
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06 Dec 2015, 12:30 am

I think it is different, but not any better, and not any worse.

Really, lots of people in every generation likes to think the world is going to Hell in the near-future. And things are different, but really not much worse than what previous generations dealt with. Every generation of humanity has to struggle with something, after all. And what generations struggle with change every time. It does not mean things are getting worse. It just means that things are different, but pretty much the same.



KimD
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06 Dec 2015, 7:29 am

^^^ Very well put. Close the door on your way outta my head.



Spiderpig
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06 Dec 2015, 9:42 am

marshall wrote:
We're not solving the problem of poverty, mass inequality, abuse of power, etc...


No problem is going to be solved if you depend on the help of people who don't agree it is a problem in the first place.

marshall wrote:
We're not in a position to start exploring space.


Probably because noöne with the means wants to.


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marshall
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06 Dec 2015, 11:23 am

Spiderpig wrote:
marshall wrote:
We're not solving the problem of poverty, mass inequality, abuse of power, etc...

No problem is going to be solved if you depend on the help of people who don't agree it is a problem in the first place.

Then what is the answer? More bloodshed? Of course it's not a problem to those who enjoy the status quo. The issue is the rest who have been convinced it's not a problem. Just wait until the next global financial collapse.

Quote:
marshall wrote:
We're not in a position to start exploring space.

Probably because noöne with the means wants to.

We are screwing ourselves over.



shlaifu
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06 Dec 2015, 2:16 pm

Quote:
marshall wrote:
We're not in a position to start exploring space.

Probably because noöne with the means wants to.

We are screwing ourselves over.[/quote]

Huh? What happened to the discussions about asteroid mining rights, mars rovers shooting High res 3D images, the amazing pictures from Philae, the ISS, Elon Musk and China's and India's space programs?
I mean, we'll not live to meet Vulcans, but really, I stopped expecting to when I was 12 or so.


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06 Dec 2015, 2:28 pm

Absolutely. Refugee crisis, terrorism, mass shootings, global warming, pollution, climate change, corrupt governments, nuclear warhead tensions, I could go on and on and on and on.


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xile123
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06 Dec 2015, 3:02 pm

Buckle up, things are going down hill fast.



0_equals_true
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06 Dec 2015, 5:35 pm

The question is have thing go worse over the last 100 years?

The answer is no.

it is likely to get worse over the next 100 years?

I wouldn't bet money on it.

Has it got worse over the last 10 years?

In some respects yes, in some respects no.



JNathanK
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07 Dec 2015, 5:53 am

techstepgenr8tion wrote:
At least in the world of economics and employment yes. We're in a particularly tense position where holding on to job numbers seems like it would be fighting innovation, companies across the board run leaner with fewer people and accordingly get by with far less in HR-related costs. I heard yesterday that in the present economy it's not uncommon for people applying for loans at the bank now to have up to nine jobs in two years - not for lack of effort but because we're increasingly heading toward an environment where practically everyone is a temporary or contractor, accordingly the employers won't be providing benefits (that'll pick up even more steam in 2016 with Affordable Care Act), and the costs - at least for now - seem to keep going up. When you get even a sizeable minority of people holding jobs, living modestly, and still needing government assistance to cover their responsibilities we're in a position where the system starts getting untenable and the feedback loop of government paying all of this on debt seems like it will keep exacerbating the issue.

There are a lot of other bits and pieces floating around that I get concerned about but the above is at least the most pronounced and obvious.


What I don't get is that with the job losses due to automation, shouldn't welfare not be seen as big of an issue? Obviously stuff is still being made, partly by outsourcing (yes) but also partly because of automation. We've had a jobless recovery mainly due to automation. The US manufacturing output in 2011 was actually higher than it was in 2007. If robots are going to be making and doing everything in the future, then obviously there won't be anyone to sell to, because everyone will be out of jobs. So, if that's the case, I don't really see what the dilemma with welfare reception. It just seems like it could be a way of allocating resources in an economy of excessive automation.

Maybe the luddites were onto something though, and the extreme concentration of capital is only making us dependents to centralized institutions. One day we'll just be idiots wired into a virtual reality that feeds us all of our material and sensual needs, completely dependent on the machines that sustain us. we'll all be in a comatose state in which machinery wired to our brains cause us to hallucinate pornographic realities, 24/7.



AntDog
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07 Dec 2015, 6:08 am

Everything has gotten worse under Obama. There's too much to list!! !



JNathanK
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07 Dec 2015, 6:31 am

AntDog wrote:
Everything has gotten worse under Obama. There's too much to list!! !


...and likewise everything got worse under Bush...and Clinton...and big Bush ...and Reagan ...and



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07 Dec 2015, 7:46 am

Sweetleaf wrote:
I mean on one hand things seem pretty tense worldwide, seems to be an awful lot of conflict. And some of the stuff these politicians say is just outright bigotry, poverty is becoming more widespread and I could go on but yeah basically seems everything going to hell more than it was a few years ago. But also maybe it always been this bad and there's just more coverage out about all the negative stuff.

So what do you WP people think?

Well, if we look at the big picture...

1. Life Expectancy

Image

2. Child mortality

Image

3. Poverty

Image

4. New releases on Steam

Image

Source: WHO, World Bank, Valve Corporation

... nuff said.



MaxE
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07 Dec 2015, 2:28 pm

In terms of perception, yes, and it's entirely due to the Internet i.e. the WWW plus the apps on everyone's mobile.

Even the most sober news items are surrounded by clickbait designed to panic the reader so they will look to determine whether a.) it's as bad as the headline sounds or b.) if there is something they can do to protect themselves. E.g. "coastal cities will all soon be underwater" or "Warren Buffett is selling all his stocks". Or else idiotic subhuman behavior is featured to the point you can't avoid thinking the human race is in an accelerating state of decline.

It has permeated the public consciousness.


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