Posted on 03/14/2004 5:05:12 AM PST by ReleaseTheHounds
Edited on 07/12/2004 3:41:27 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
The chairman of the Federal Reserve ruffled political feathers when he stated the obvious: The government can't pay all the benefits it has promised under Social Security.
In coming weeks, the Social Security Board of Trustees will release an annual report echoing Mr. Greenspan's warning. This is old news: For years, the trustees' report has warned looming Social Security deficits must be addressed.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The real drag is going to be medical costs. Fixing bad hearts, joints, and etc isn't cheap.
I wonder how many people have really thought about the ethical dilemmas we have coming our way. It's clear that medical technology is going to get to a point where virtually any natural death can be kicked down the calendar if we spend enough money.
People will literally be given the choice whether to die, or impoverish their children and grandchildren to pay for a Myocardial Whatsis, which might keep the ol' ticker going for another six months. What a choice to have.
Parents will have to face letting granny die, or spending Susie's college fund to pull granny through... for how long no one knows.
People will need to decide to die. Humans have never had to do that before. It's an awesome thing to face.
You must lead a sheltered life. Pain and quality of life are the overriding factors. They could put terminal cancer or heart patients on machines and keep them alive forever, but they don't. Any technology or medicine which delivers the patient from pain and restores quality of life will become affordable solely on the basis of the supply being cranked up to meet the demand. Whenever a "silver bullet" medical technology is invented, it soon becomes routine and affordable.
I hope it stays sheltered. To tell you the truth, I'd rather get hit by a bus than croak in a hospital bed after six months of being hooked up to some machine.
When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like Grandfather did. Not screaming like the passengers in his car.
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