UK population expected to pass 70 million by 2031

[iamnumerate]

1 hour ago, Riedquat said:

There are exceptions but in general human being need human contact and interaction as part of their day to day lives. Personally I hate the idea of robots doing anything done by humans full stop, including the chores I have to do even though I regard them as chores. This isn't black and white - it's not as if I want to do everything by hand without even the most basic tools, but a combination of a lack of human contact and essentially being an infant with every need provided externally is an incredibly grim-looking dystopian future. And it's even more depressing because I can't see it not happening.

You are assuming that all care staff are the type of humans that you want interaction with.

Robots could mean that instead of 10 staff who are badly paid and have no time to talk to the residents, there is only well paid staff member who has time to talk to the residents.

[kzb]

19 hours ago, prozac said:

It’s very nice to read a statistic that shows London as one of the best places in the country 

Has long life expectancy as well.

Kensington and Chelsea is #1 and Richmond is #3.  And there is all that fuss over the air quality.

[iamnumerate]

11 minutes ago, kzb said:

You missed one:  euthanasia.

I believe, in the Netherlands, healthy persons aged 75 or over can choose to end it.  At any rate I heard this on the radio, it may only be a proposal.

Thank you - I don't think that is an improvement though.

[kzb]

19 minutes ago, iamnumerate said:

Thank you - I don't think that is an improvement though.

A lot of them on here are itching to inject "the boomers".

[crouch]

1 hour ago, PeanutButter said:

The west is individualistic, whereas Japan  values social and cultural cohesion. Both have positives and negatives but when it come to sweeping changes a country that is still essentially homogenous and with a unity of thought will fare far better than one as ruptured, divided and self centred as the UK. 

I only hope the new visas Jpn has started offering don’t result in a wave of unfettered immigration. 

Yes, you're right. I also like the notion of unconditional obligation (giri) the polar opposite to our Western values.

[iamnumerate]

20 minutes ago, kzb said:

A lot of them on here are itching to inject "the boomers".

I am not, I have often thought that HPI really does not make a country at peace with itself - well done Blair Brown and Cameron.

[PeanutButter]

 

[kzb]

 

 

 

 

 

[iamnumerate]

3 minutes ago, kzb said:

 

 

 

 

 

But has that really harmed them?  Are they poorer than us?

[kzb]

1 minute ago, iamnumerate said:

But has that really harmed them?  Are they poorer than us?

Look at those bulges of people in their mid forties and early 70's.  By 2045 it is forecast to look like this:

That's a lot of spritely old people for the young to support.

[scottbeard]

4 hours ago, kzb said:

 

 

This chart nicely illustrates something I was saying - albeit on another thread - that the baby boomer generation in the UK aren't really that significant in size compared to others: the 70-74 group (born immediately after 1945) are the same size as 65-69, when you'd expect less.  But it's a tiny blip.  The idea that suddenly in 20 years' time the housing market will be falling due to all the houses freed up when they pass away is just not mathematically sound in my view.

If anything it's the low numbers aged 40-44 and 15-19 that are more significant in size than the baby boomer "bulge".

[Odakyu-sen]

I think that part of the tension in the UK due to the conflict between: a) native groups that value social and cultural cohesion (think of an image of Coronation Street in the 1960s); and b) an internationally minded, well-educated elite who does not consider themselves to be a member of Group a and stands to benefit greatly from international trade and competition. 

Class welfare? 

Has it always been this way?

[simvastatin]

1 hour ago, Odakyu-sen said:

I think that part of the tension in the UK due to the conflict between: a) native groups that value social and cultural cohesion (think of an image of Coronation Street in the 1960s); and b) an internationally minded, well-educated elite who does not consider themselves to be a member of Group a and stands to benefit greatly from international trade and competition. 

Class welfare? 

Has it always been this way?

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2018/10/17/our-lives/empty-seat-crowded-japanese-train-10-years-gaijin-seat-still-grates/#.XbIpN-hKg2w

 

The empty seat on a crowded Japanese train: 10 years on, the 'gaijin seat' still grates

The first writing I ever published on life in Japan was for a blog I launched in 2008 — 10 years ago this month, in fact — called Loco in Yokohama. And in recognition of this occasion, I would like to revisit the blog post that got the ball rolling for me, career-wise.

The first post on my newborn blog was titled “An empty seat on a crowded train.” If you’re a conspicuous non-Japanese living here who rides the trains or buses, or goes to cafes or anywhere in public where Japanese people have the choice of sitting beside you or sitting elsewhere, then you’ve likely experienced the empty-seat phenomenon with varying frequency and intensity.

 

 

I had been living in Japan for four years before I wrote that post, during which time the empty seat and I were constant companions. Our relationship has gone through several phases in the 10 years since, and during that time we’ve gotten to know one another very well. You could even say we were intimate. And like with most intimate relationships, there comes a point where you’ve got to accept your partner, flaws and all, or call it quits. Interacting with the empty seat in this way helped me arrive at an idea that sustained me through the most trying period of my tenure here. And that idea was this:

Before one can make peace with Japan and the Japanese, one must first make peace with the empty seat (in all its manifestations) and all that it signifies.

I had that thought on Oct. 16, 2008. Then I sat down and wrote that post. And that thesis — this desire to make peace with this defining Japanese behavior, and with what was going on inside me that made peace an imperative — became the driving force of what was to become one of the most talked-about blogs around these parts, as well as one of the most respected books on expat life in Japan: “Hi My Name is Loco and I am a Racist.”

So, let’s fast forward 10 years … 

[GregBowman]

13 hours ago, kzb said:

Has long life expectancy as well.

Kensington and Chelsea is #1 and Richmond is #3.  And there is all that fuss over the air quality.

But at least in Kensington I doubt they spend that much time there compared to say Tower Hamlets ?

Edited October 24, 2019 by GregBowman

[Odakyu-sen]

Before one can make peace with Japan and the Japanese, one must first make peace with the empty seat (in all its manifestations) and all that it signifies.

This guy thinks too much. 

On the other hand, it is a no-no in Japan to cross the road when the pedestrian light is red (even when there is absolutely no traffic around). The Japanese and the Germans share a commonality in this regard. 

I can rationalize this Japanese view on disobeying the crossing light because they (Japanese society) is worried that a small child (and there will always be one around nearby) will see you and think that it is safe to disregard the "no crossing" warning. How would you like that on your conscious that a kid was killed copying you who broke the rules. 

In a Western (American/New Zealand) context, you judge the situation and make your own decisions. You are not responsible for the actions of others. The Japanese don't quite see it that way. (Note: When visiting Japan I obey the traffic crossings too. The ones disregarding the lights are often Japanese youth with tatoos and attitudes. (Beatniks!)).

[iamnumerate]

14 hours ago, kzb said:

Look at those bulges of people in their mid forties and early 70's.  By 2045 it is forecast to look like this:

That's a lot of spritely old people for the young to support.

True - although are the young worse off than the young here?  We have lots of working age people on benefits that for some reason we chose to support.

[iamnumerate]

9 hours ago, Odakyu-sen said:

I think that part of the tension in the UK due to the conflict between: a) native groups that value social and cultural cohesion (think of an image of Coronation Street in the 1960s); and b) an internationally minded, well-educated elite who does not consider themselves to be a member of Group a and stands to benefit greatly from international trade and competition. 

Class welfare? 

Has it always been this way?

True - although these are different classes from before and some people who are harmed by immigration support it.  

[Mikhail Liebenstein]

14 hours ago, kzb said:

 

 

Interesting that the UK seems to have a second baby bust around the 15-19 year old group. I guess those are kids with parents in 40-49 baby bust GenXer. It also seems to apply either side with 10-14 and 20-24 year olds. 

Meanwhile there is a massive group of 50-54 year olds heading toward retirement. 

Looks like a big tightening of the Labour Market is coming. 

 

 

 

[markyh]

17 minutes ago, Mikhail Liebenstein said:

 

Meanwhile there is a massive group of 50-54 year olds heading toward retirement. 

Looks like a big tightening of the Labour Market is coming. 

 

 

 

That's my gang, the biggest. And most of us voted for Brexit.......................mwwwahhhhhh.  Interestingly my kids 10-14 and 9-5 ranges, also healthy sized bands!

[iamnumerate]

41 minutes ago, Mikhail Liebenstein said:

Interesting that the UK seems to have a second baby bust around the 15-19 year old group. I guess those are kids with parents in 40-49 baby bust GenXer. It also seems to apply either side with 10-14 and 20-24 year olds. 

Meanwhile there is a massive group of 50-54 year olds heading toward retirement. 

Looks like a big tightening of the Labour Market is coming. 

 

 

 

15-19 would be children born 2000 -2004 - maybe people were put off having children because of Blair HPI boom - and then decided to try anyway.

[Riedquat]

Those bulges in the population graph are the best argument for tightening the belt for a bit until they work their way through rather than making any long-term damaging permanent changes.

[PeanutButter]

for comparison

 

[simvastatin]

On 24/10/2019 at 10:59, PeanutButter said:

The west is individualistic, whereas Japan  values social and cultural cohesion. Both have positives and negatives but when it come to sweeping changes a country that is still essentially homogenous and with a unity of thought will fare far better than one as ruptured, divided and self centred as the UK. 

I only hope the new visas Jpn has started offering don’t result in a wave of unfettered immigration. 

Why, do you not think unfettered immigration is good.

What possible reason can there be for the Japanese letting in lots of immigrants, because they look at  multiculturalism and want it, i guess that is not the narrative you want to hear.

[PeanutButter]

Yeah go ahead and cite your references on that assertion  

Nah babez, they don’t want multiculturalism lol, they want workers.

Believe it it or not but people don’t wake up in their nice litter-free neighbourhoods, where their children can walk to school without being abducted and suddenly think - you know what would make this waaay better is if people who don’t speak Japanese come over and create a ghetto while trashing the place and increasing crime.

 

https://thediplomat.com/2019/10/how-public-discourse-keeps-the-domestic-and-the-foreign-separate-in-japan/

 

 

 

[user not found]

On 21/10/2019 at 16:09, PeanutButter said:

The UK population is projected to exceed 70 million by mid-2031, according to the Office for National Statistics.

During the next 10 years, the projections for the UK as a whole suggest 7.2 million people will be born, 6.4 million people will die, 5.4 million people will migrate long-term to the UK, and 3.3 million people will emigrate long-term from the UK.

Net international migration is expected to account for 73% of the UK population growth over the next decade, while more births than deaths could account for 27%.

 

And what are they going to live in?

 

 

We'll cope. We always do.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/10/25/the-long-history-of-eco-pessimism/