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Comment by seanmcdirmid | Hacker News Reader

We need young people to pay for old people retirement (economically speaking, someone has to be working when someone else is just eating).

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I really hope that automation and robotics will _finally_ allow us to invert the pyramid.

Don't know about inverting the pyramid but we may get more pyramid schemes. Like Google and Oracle doing 100 year bonds for AI.

I think the solution is in adjusting our ways of life. Simpler living, smaller houses and more density, being able to walk and bike, shared common areas, increase health span, being able to live independently for longer, simpler hobbies, not needing so much stuff, etc.

Despite the hype cycle around humanoid robots it's unlikely that they'll advance enough to be capable of replacing many human workers in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities within our lifetimes. Expect to see lots of really sad stories about elder abuse and neglect because as a society we simply won't have the resources to adequately care for them all.

I kinda expect nursing and people paid to give attention to the elderly to be the last job standing. very hard to replace or automate

Paid by whom? That's the problem. The people with money won't be willing to pay more taxes to fund workers to care for a growing indigent elderly population. It's already causing shortages today and will only get worse.

it isn't just about money, it is about production. Even if the money is evenly spread, if there isn't enough production (because not enough people providing goods and services) you'll just have inflation. But ya, if all the money is concentrated and billionaires are indulging in most of the production while the elderly starve, most of us are still screwed.

They don’t have to. If say robotaxis become widespread, you’ve freed up some portion of the labor market to do something else. They don’t have to automate all jobs, just some.

The evidence has shown that this thinking is flawed - disruption of jobs in an industry causes a slow, wrenching, scarring adjustment process that increases the load on welfare programs and makes quality of life broadly worse: https://www.npr.org/2025/02/11/g-s1-47352/why-economists-got...

sure but after 3-5 generations it works out, like with farming and weaving. just gotta wait longer!

If only this was a game of Victoria 3

so ease the robotaxis in now then rather than waiting 30 years.

Increasing health span would be a big step forward. More specifically old age dementia.

It won't. The economic gains of automation will continue to be captured by the capital-owning class. It's simply too valuable to just give over to the masses.

Much more likely is that conditions for elder care will continuously degrade until MAID becomes most people's choice.

For those who don't already know this, like me. (MAID) Medical Assistance in Dying

If the benefits of increased productivity went to the people instead of the 1%, you wouldn't need a growing population.

If they were only eating there would be no problem. But they want fancy vacations. They want houses. They need drugs. They need MRI machines. And they need these things for decades for minimal cost irrespective of ability to pay. And, when they do die, they expect to pass estates tax-free to thier children. Supporting the retired population is one thing, but the day may soon come when we revisit what it means to be retired.

If you want to punch up try aiming higher than the upper-middle class. Other countries have MRIs and drugs as part of universal healthcare.

Ya but those countries also do not enjoy private health insurance and for-profit care providers. The ability to purchase shares in both the hospital that is treating you and the company that authorizes your treatment is a uniquely american priviledge.

You jest but to play devil's advocate every system has its supporters. One of the reasons we didn't get a public health plan option is because the Senator for Connecticut was representing his constituents such as Cigna and Aetna. If you provide an easier exit for the former death panel workers in the form of working at the public option administrator, re-training, etc. you might be able to assuage unemployment based opposition to reform.

People don't gloat at privatization but aforementioned wealthier retirees rely on corporations squeezing ever more money out of customers, employees, and vendors.

> those countries also do not enjoy private health insurance and for-profit care providers

I don't think anyone enjoys them per se.

Those other countries are still paying for those things somehow. (or they really have the alleged death panels critics talk about) You can shove the cost in different places, but somehow they still have to be paid.

Why? I understand that's how the system works now but does it have to? Productivity has never been higher.

Why though? All those old people paid in all their lives so surely that is sitting in a vault somewhere waiting for them.

We need young people to pay for the billionaire subsidies (economically speaking, someone has to accumulate all that profit and it's not going be us)

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