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What are the 5 most important issues facing us today (1 Viewer)

bostonfred

bostonfred

Footballguy
I would start with a list that includes

1) The rise of automation and AI

2) Antibiotic resistant bacteria

3) Climate change

4) Energy and water

5) International politics (incl terrorism)

These seem like the most likely issues to cause massive death tolls or instability.  Are there other issues that should be higher?  

And what should we do about them?

 
1) Pizzagate

2) Dogs are pretending they don't understand what we say

3) Surveilance devices in our food

4) Vaccines and the spread of homosexuality

5) Long waits between seasons of Better Call Saul

 
Trumpophobia seems to have infected nearly half of our population.  Although no deaths have yet to be reported.  I think it is in our water. 

 
I'd like to keep this thread serious please. We had some good discussion in the automation thread and I'd like to try the same here. 

 
You pretty much covered the waterfront, though I admit to not having thought too much about automation as a threat in the way I made fit see the others. I tend to view almost all technological advancement as ultimately positive. 

Climate change and energy are linked so much as to almost be the same issue. We'll solve the first by moving forward with the second. 

In terms of the USA, a lot of people would add the national debt to this list. I believe that's potentially true in terms of how we react to it. 

 
I guess the rise of nationalism across the globe is covered under the politics topic.  But as more of the world starts to close its borders and look inward rather than outward, it seems like a pretty huge step backward to me.  I always thought that the eventual equilibrium for the human race (assuming we didn't kill each other first) would be kind nations all working together and looking at issues from a global perspective, not a local one.  

I'm guessing this is far far away and I'd wager we wipe ourselves out first.

 
What's sad is that in the last election many voters seem to care more about illegal immigrants and xenophobia than any of these larger concerns. 

 
And I don't know where it fits but economic equality (even with developed nations like the US) is going to become a bigger and bigger problem imho.  When money starts letting you buy longer life and security well above the average person, we're going to be in trouble. 

 
What are the 5 most important issues facing us today?
Not sure I can speak for everyone, but the 5 that I feel are the most compelling in the near term (1-5 years)

-Spiralling/Uncontrollabe health care costs.

-Online security

-Global Warming/Climate change

-Income disparity (not only withing in the U.S., but across the world)

-Global growth and the sustainability of humanity.

I don't really feel AI/automation is an issue at all :shrug:

 
 
James Daulton said:
And I don't know where it fits but economic equality (even with developed nations like the US) is going to become a bigger and bigger problem imho.  When money starts letting you buy longer life and security well above the average person, we're going to be in trouble. 
Click to expand...
That's a good one.  No reason to believe that's not going to just continue to expand.  

 
guru_007 said:
What are the 5 most important issues facing us today?
Not sure I can speak for everyone, but the 5 that I feel are the most compelling in the near term (1-5 years)

-Spiralling/Uncontrollabe health care costs.

-Online security

-Global Warming/Climate change

-Income disparity (not only withing in the U.S., but across the world)

-Global growth and the sustainability of humanity.

I don't really feel AI/automation is an issue at all :shrug:

 
Click to expand...
Hasn't healthcare costs become a little more stabilized.  I know that for the small percentage of the pop that uses obamacare, prices have jumped dramatically as they did such a piss poor job of pricing plans to begin with, but I know that for my work healthcare and my wife's work healthcare, prices have gone up just slightly over the last 4 years.

 
Based on the election:

1. We don't have a wall.

2. Hillary Clinton can still send and receive emails, and may still have an email server.

3. Muslims.

4. A lack of jobs in the coal production industry.

5. We really should be looking into Hillary Clinton's emails more closely.

I think that covers it.

 
Grace Under Pressure said:
Based on the election:

1. We don't have a wall.

2. Hillary Clinton can still send and receive emails, and may still have an email server.

3. Muslims.

4. A lack of jobs in the coal production industry.

5. We really should be looking into Hillary Clinton's emails more closely.

I think that covers it.
Click to expand...
No, you forgot about Hillary's emails. 

 
NutterButter said:
Hasn't healthcare costs become a little more stabilized.  I know that for the small percentage of the pop that uses obamacare, prices have jumped dramatically as they did such a piss poor job of pricing plans to begin with, but I know that for my work healthcare and my wife's work healthcare, prices have gone up just slightly over the last 4 years.
Click to expand...
You're talking more about your healthcare insurance costs

Have you seen a recent hospital bill?  These 'companies' can charge whatever the hell they want.  This is out of hand.  Look at the costs of something like global pregnancy in 1980 vs 2015.  Even adjust for inflation, you are talking about a 20 fold increase in costs.  There is no regulation other than what insurance companies may be willing to pay.  Lots of people are still uninsured, underinsured, etc...  I'm not communist, but what other company can decide what to charge AFTER the service has been done and not agreed upon cost?  If my company could perform a service and then just send a haphazard bill detailing costs as I deem fit, well, I would be retired by now.

 
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The debt doesn't worry me as much because it is solvable.  It would take an extremely disciplined government and population but it can be done.  The other stuff is pretty unknown right now.

 
Very weird coincidence - my co-worker and I had this same conversation this morning during our commute.  Black dot for later when I have more time to read and respond.

 
1) Overpopulation

2) Transportation at range, and feeding of corn to livestock

3)  Reliance on plastics 

4)  Inability to engage lower class in basic education

5)  General lack of understanding of basic money concepts

 
James Daulton said:
The debt doesn't worry me as much because it is solvable.  It would take an extremely disciplined government and population but it can be done.  The other stuff is pretty unknown right now.
Click to expand...
Was much more of an issue in the O's first term.   The deficit has stabilized and is roughly in line with growth although there's not a lot of slack which should be a big concern.  

 
AAABatteries said:
Fred - just so we are in the same page, by "us" do you mean people, Americans, the FFA or something else?
Click to expand...
This is a good question. I would say people in general but the US is fine too.  I don't really want this to turn into a politics thread but I understand that it's impossible to talk about what we should do about it without talking about who or how 

 
guru_007 said:
You're talking about your healthcare costs/insurance.

Have you seen a recent hospital bill?  These 'companies' can charge whatever the hell they want.  This is out of hand.  Look at the costs of something like global pregnancy in 1980 vs 2015.  Even adjust for inflation, you are talking about a 20 fold increase in costs.  There is no regulation other than what insurance companies may be willing to pay.  Lots of people are still uninsured, underinsured, etc...  I'm not communist, but what other company can decide what to charge AFTER the service has been done and not agreed upon cost?  If my company could perform a service and then just send a haphazard bill detailing costs as I deem fit, well, I would be retired by now.
Click to expand...
Well that would be reflected in your premium and/or deductibles right?  If those aren't going up significantly, then who is absorbing all these increasing costs.  I'm not saying the costs aren't high, just that they've stabilized.   Maybe 10 years ago, I remember premiums going up significantly.  

 
And kudos Fred for starting threads around here that are interesting, fun, and though provoking.  And for giving us something else to look at beyond the political drivel that's infected this place.

:thumbup:

 
guru_007 said:
You're talking more about your healthcare insurance costs

Have you seen a recent hospital bill?  These 'companies' can charge whatever the hell they want.  This is out of hand.  Look at the costs of something like global pregnancy in 1980 vs 2015.  Even adjust for inflation, you are talking about a 20 fold increase in costs.  There is no regulation other than what insurance companies may be willing to pay.  Lots of people are still uninsured, underinsured, etc...  I'm not communist, but what other company can decide what to charge AFTER the service has been done and not agreed upon cost?  If my company could perform a service and then just send a haphazard bill detailing costs as I deem fit, well, I would be retired by now.
Click to expand...
Yes sir. The bills from my surgery and hospital stay are over $500,000 at this point. Anybody who even heard my name sent a bill. I don't blame my insurance company for refusing to pay some of it. Hell, the itemized bills make no sense at all. One line item, "physician assistant" is $23k, and nobody can explain what the hell that was for.

 
guru_007 said:
Have you seen a recent hospital bill?  These 'companies' can charge whatever the hell they want.  This is out of hand.  Look at the costs of something like global pregnancy in 1980 vs 2015.  Even adjust for inflation, you are talking about a 20 fold increase in costs.  There is no regulation other than what insurance companies may be willing to pay.  Lots of people are still uninsured, underinsured, etc...  I'm not communist, but what other company can decide what to charge AFTER the service has been done and not agreed upon cost?  If my company could perform a service and then just send a haphazard bill detailing costs as I deem fit, well, I would be retired by now.
Click to expand...
On a serious note, this is completely out of hand, and consumers wouldn't tolerate it in any other industry. The fact that there is billing and companies and profiteering is so out of whack. Healthcare isn't optional, like that new TV is. We shouldn't have a healthcare industry with companies of which we are consumers. It's sickening.

 
I broke a toe. Really thorough break of the big toe. Had surgery where the doctor stated "that was the easiest toe Ive ever repaired, everything went right back into place with no damage to veins, tendons, ligaments and we were done in 35 minutes and 1 screw."  But the hospital had me there for 2.5 days and surgery didnt begin for 16 hours after admitting! When I left I was letting them know I was staying no ####### longer and I didn't care what loose strings that they said they had remaining.

The bill was 60k!

 
bostonfred said:
I would start with a list that includes

1) The rise of automation and AI

2) Antibiotic resistant bacteria

3) Climate change

4) Energy and water

5) International politics (incl terrorism)

These seem like the most likely issues to cause massive death tolls or instability.  Are there other issues that should be higher?  

And what should we do about them?
Click to expand...
I think you are looking at items that have the potential to cause global catastrophe - massive death/sickness.  If that's the case, you could add natural phenomena as well - super-volcano, meteor, etc.

As far as what can be done with the above -  :shrug: most of these are global issues.  They should be addressed internationally, but I don't think any meaningful countries have the stomach address any of this in a meaningful way.  So, IMO, it all reduces down to international politics.

 
AI

Gullibility in the post-truth internet age

Climate change

Nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists

Meteors/super-volcanos

 
guru_007 said:
You're talking more about your healthcare insurance costs

Have you seen a recent hospital bill?  These 'companies' can charge whatever the hell they want.  This is out of hand.  Look at the costs of something like global pregnancy in 1980 vs 2015.  Even adjust for inflation, you are talking about a 20 fold increase in costs.  There is no regulation other than what insurance companies may be willing to pay.  Lots of people are still uninsured, underinsured, etc...  I'm not communist, but what other company can decide what to charge AFTER the service has been done and not agreed upon cost?  If my company could perform a service and then just send a haphazard bill detailing costs as I deem fit, well, I would be retired by now.
Click to expand...
There is no doubt that Healthcare costs are a real problem and that the system itself as it is currently constructed in the US is extremely problematic. Unfortunately, the implementation of the ACA has been wildly inflationary.

Healthcare inflation had actually been in steep decline through 2013. Then the ACA was implemented and it has caused inflation in HC costs to reaccelerate.

Annual Healthcare Inflation

The data shown above is the rate of growth in the Personal Consumption Expenditure for Healthcare, through 2015. PCE is a good way to measure underlying cost inflation, since it considers both the ought of pocket cost to the consumer and expenditures made on behalf of the consumer.

This isn't presented as an argument against the ACA (although I do think it is lousy legislation, poorly implemented). It is meant to be factual and informational.

 
James Daulton said:
The debt doesn't worry me as much because it is solvable.  It would take an extremely disciplined government and population but it can be done.  The other stuff is pretty unknown right now.
Click to expand...
While definitely true that the debt situation is solvable, at least in theory, the thing that makes it extremely frightening is that it is so much bigger than most people realize.

A lot of people don't even understand the difference between the debt and the deficit. But even among those that do, the issue of unfunded liabilities that aren't even on the books is a massive one. 

 
Grace Under Pressure said:
Based on the election:

1. We don't have a wall.

2. Hillary Clinton can still send and receive emails, and may still have an email server.

3. Muslims.

4. A lack of jobs in the coal production industry.

5. We really should be looking into Hillary Clinton's emails more closely.

I think that covers it.
Click to expand...
I'd only add "people who know Hillary Clinton send and receive e-mails"

 
bostonfred said:
I would start with a list that includes

1) The rise of automation and AI

2) Antibiotic resistant bacteria

3) Climate change

4) Energy and water

5) International politics (incl terrorism)

These seem like the most likely issues to cause massive death tolls or instability.  Are there other issues that should be higher?  

And what should we do about them?
Click to expand...
I would have included the bolded ones, too.  #2 would not have occurred to me, but that's possibly because I don't know much about the topic.  I tend to think of "energy" as falling under the umbrella of "climate change."  

My additions would be:

  • Figuring out how to get through the next four years without blowing up the world or turning into a fascist police state.
  • The tribalization of society
 
bostonfred said:
I would start with a list that includes

1) The rise of automation and AI

2) Antibiotic resistant bacteria

3) Climate change

4) Energy and water

5) International politics (incl terrorism)

These seem like the most likely issues to cause massive death tolls or instability.  Are there other issues that should be higher?  

And what should we do about them?
Click to expand...
This is a good list. Not the order in which I would have written it, but a good list nonetheless.

Water is a much overlooked problem today but potentially even more so tomorrow as we grow in numbers and pollute more.

I'd maybe do a different split, saying "energy and climate change" and "water, polution and sustainable food production"

 
1) AI/Automation/Technology (includes secondary/fallout issues of Globalization/Nationalism and Income Inequality/Distribution)

2) Climate Change

3) Cultural/religious extremism and intolerance

4) Education, particularly as it relates to preparing people to live in world with rapidly evolving tech/social change

5) Gun violence/control 

 
RedmondLonghorn said:
While definitely true that the debt situation is solvable, at least in theory, the thing that makes it extremely frightening is that it is so much bigger than most people realize.

A lot of people don't even understand the difference between the debt and the deficit. But even among those that do, the issue of unfunded liabilities that aren't even on the books is a massive one. 
Click to expand...
Unfunded liability in the form of Social Security/Medicare can just be replaced with the stroke of a pen.  And that's what will happen.  It's just no political party wants to be the one in charge when it is finally forced to happen.  

 
bostonfred said:
I would start with a list that includes

1) The rise of automation and AI

2) Antibiotic resistant bacteria

3) Climate change

4) Energy and water

5) International politics (incl terrorism)

These seem like the most likely issues to cause massive death tolls or instability.  Are there other issues that should be higher?  

And what should we do about them?
Click to expand...
The biggest issue I have is that you aren't posting more images and gifs in that other thread

 
1. Global water supply - This is an ultimately limited resource that is needed for life to exist and our populations are centered around its availability

2. Islamic radicals vs the West - no end in site and continues to destabilize an expanding number of countries

3. Russia and/or China vs the West - potential WW3 level conflict if problems escalate

4. Global food supply - affected by #1 and population growth.  I think this is a manageable issue but not easy.

5. Global warming - I know we will adapt and will probably see population shifts away from the equators toward the poles, but the increases in violent storms is problematic.

 
By us, I'll assume you mean globally

1. Climate Change

2. Hunger

3. Religion

4. Us Vs. Them mentality

5. Clean water

 
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culdeus said:
Unfunded liability in the form of Social Security/Medicare can just be replaced with the stroke of a pen.  And that's what will happen.  It's just no political party wants to be the one in charge when it is finally forced to happen.  
Click to expand...
The accounting can be "fixed" that easily, but the actual problem can't.

And it isn't just unfunded SS/Medicare. The pensions associated with Federal and State employee unions are a monstrous issue. Massive holes in defined benefit plan funding are a major issue and a lot more difficult to solve.

If you want to generalize this to a broader problem, it is related to the massive demographic shift going on within the developed world. It is universal across developed countries (it has impacted Japan first and hardest...to say it has been a significant and intractable problem in Japan is an understatement). Too many people nearing retirement age + too few people in the work-force replacing them + under-funded pensions + too much debt of other kinds = major problems. And that would be true even if the current and future workforces had plenty of good jobs to work in. That isn't the case at the moment.

 
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