[SloopJohnB]

The real crisis will occur in 2050 when half of the population is 65 and older, life expectancy is 90, 30% of those over 65 has alzheimers, most have not saved enough to live on in retirement and a large number of them can no longer physically work or manage the cognitive skills to think abstractly. What are we going to do then? Looks like granny and grandpa will be moving in on their children and grandchildren to survive.

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I thought Team Obama's CommieCare Death Panel would sort this out. /sarc

[marsh2]

I don’t think you are being sarcastic. I think this is exactly what will happen. Life expectancy will be shortened either as a subtle policy of rationing and cost/benefit or by virtue of an actual shortage of resources. Rationing will be an imperative to regain demographic equillibrium.

A society that invests the majority of its resources in an unproductive segment of society that will never become productive in the future is committing suicide. It is the old Eskimo on the ice flow reality. What remains is the cultural change necessary for the elderly to alter their expectations and feelings of entitlement concerning care and extended life expectancy. Taint pretty, but I don’t see how it could be otherwise if our grandchildren are going to survive with some semblance of financial liberty.