Comments on: Bonus Question of the Week

By: Gate Latch %0B

Gate Latch %0B — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 07:57:25 +0000

we can always give food aid to the african countries if we just save some pennies and donate it to them -“

By: Lucas Watson

Lucas Watson — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:01:37 +0000

food aids are badly needed by third world countries and we really need to give something to the poor.-’,

By: Aimee Chapman

Aimee Chapman — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 04:28:29 +0000

Food Aids are badly needed by third world countries like in Africa in Asia.,”

By: tet

tet — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:28:00 +0000

Actually, Allan, my baby boomer retirement transition is going to go remarkably well, but that’s just because I’m a polygamist.

Tom

By: Allan Niemerg

Allan Niemerg — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:57:00 +0000

Alan, China is quite likely not going to be a competitor for very long. It's about to undergo a population contraction unprecedented in human history combined with a sizable gender disparity. I don't think the results of this are going to be conducive to a high rank in world economics.

Tet,
I absolutely agree, and you nicely expand on the point I was trying to make. Indeed, China's one child per family (it's actually closer to 1.8) policy may have prevented a Malthusian disaster in exchange for a population bomb. But China isn't an exception, aging populations will create enormous trouble in Japan, Europe, and elsewhere.
Fortunately, here in the U.S., we are unlikely to suffer quite as badly from the transition. Thanks to immigrants and their propensity to have children, the U.S. is likely to see a healthy fertility and population growth rate for the foreseeable future. Of course that won't make the baby boomer retirement transition easy, but it should ensure a sufficient population of young workers that the boomers may be able to avoid tough spending cuts resulting from current overspending.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:43:00 +0000

If homophobia is reflective of suppressed bisexuality (which I think is likely but certainly can’t prove), then a society that actually treated homosexual relationships as equal to heterosexual ones ought to be able to handle the gender imbalance Tom is talking about, assuming it’s all biological. (To the extent that it is a choice or determined by upbringing, it should be even more flexible.)

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:35:00 +0000

Anonymous,

I think Kofi might have meant “homosexual acts” rather than “homosexuality.” Of course you’re right that there would be no increased percentage of homosexuality, but anybody who’s ever heard a joke about prison rape knows that non-gay people will engage in homosexual acts when they find themselves in situations where that’s the only way they can release their sexual urges.

I would guess that it would be highly unlikely that there would increased incidents homosexual acts in China simply because men outnumber women, but that’s just my impression.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:12:00 +0000

I thought the consensus was homosexuality was not a choice, it was a biological imperative. So it does not matter how many women there are in a given society, that should not effect the percentage of homosexuality.

By: kofi the war?! revolution?! stealing our women?!!1!

kofi the war?! revolution?! stealing our women?!!1! — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 22:31:00 +0000

Why not an increased incidence of homosexuality?

By: Hanno

Hanno — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:54:00 +0000

China is headed in one of a few directions.
1) Internal revolution because you have tons of bored men who aren't getting any action.
2) Military aggressiveness as an outlet for said testosterone bubble
3) Importation of women from other countries
4) Dramatically increased incidence of prostitution

I wonder what the implications of halving population will be. We've seen the destruction wrought by doubling it...