Just finished the Incerto by @nntaleb and it occurs to me that the local extended family serves as personal insurance against black swans. Throwing the elderly under the bus during a pandemic is the last thing you want to do.

My in-laws live across the street. When the pandemic hit we were able to immediately slash our expenses (no day care, group meals). Huge mental health bonus and if my income never recovers we'll move in with them.

Up until very recently this is how it worked. As I've said before the collapse of the extended family in the West has left us extremely vulnerable and almost no one talks about it. https://twitter.com/JeremyMcLellan/status/1082648485005021188

To use Taleb's language this insurance has enabled me (as a comedian) to go around chasing positive black swans. So far I've caught a few, and if I get a really big one I'll pay off my in-laws mortgage. Worst that can happen is we move in and live like Pakistanis.

The willingness to let the old die as some sort of "trade-off" is a sign of an empire and culture in decline. It's also FALSE, as we NEED our elders to pass down hard-won wisdom about survival and adaptation. Plus it helps if they can watch our kids.