Tell that to Sri Lanka

I could imagine China using policy demands, similar to what the IMF does, still evil. That's basically what the Belt and Road initiative is.

Can't get cavities if you ain't got teeth

It won't prevent you from needing a deep cleaning (in cases where you actually need it). Deep cleanings are necessary when the inflammation from poor hygiene has caused you to lose bone in your jaw and the pockets underneath the gums have deepened to the point that food is getting stuck in them and hardening (causing more of the inflammation mentioned above). In those cases you need to be numbed to have the hardened food scraped out by a professional.

Dental schools are a good option for general care too. Cheap and surprisingly high quality work, but very slow.

This only works if the source of the pain is an infection. If the pain is from an exposed nerve this will be torture.

Syzygy - a roughly straight-line configuration of three or more celestial bodies in a gravitational system.

Thanks for the new word!

Have you checked out Bisq?

I heard it back in '68 but it was about Paul McCartney

Ideally, but the ones with their hands on the controls are the biggest beneficiaries of the current system, so it's unlikely to change without a revolution or collapse.

Ultimately it has to do with the way our society is structured economically. We need continuous growth to pay off the debt we're continuously accruing. If growth stalls or reverses the whole system collapses. Population decrease basically ensures that the required economic growth won't occur.

Same. Just this morning actually. And here I was thinking I was done with social media after the Reddit API debacle. So far Lemmy scratches that same itch for me.