life extension on welfare?

With expensive pharmaceutical and medical interventions, including hip replacement and organ transplants, people’s lives are being extended far beyond their biblical three score and ten and since most of these interventions are being carried out at public expense on people way past 80 – while the rest of us languish on waiting lists and queues for minor ops, even when we pay for it ourselves – Marina wonders who makes the decisions in favor of the elderly, especially when life extension means prolonged pensions.

“Having grown up in the shadow of the Golden Generation war heroes born during the 1920’s who came of age during WWII, when the times were dangerous but terribly exciting, and the world was its oyster then and, because of their continuing power, wealth and influence, still is,” says Marina, “I have little doubt about who is pulling the strings in high places in the pensions departments and hospital boards and while I support pain management I do not support welfare funds being diverted to life extension.”

“They are a Golden Generation because they were born at an opportune time in history and they have milked it for all it’s worth for over 60 years now, living the life of Riley at everyone else’s expense,” says Marina, “and, at the rate our tax dollars are going into organ transplants for the elderly, they are likely to be milking it for another 20 years plus.”

“My objection is that far too much taxpayer funding is being spent on prolonging the life of the elderly at the expense of the rest of us,” says Marina, “and, because the whole health system to date is a Ponzi scheme, by the time my generation of Boomers need help there will be none available because Gen X and Y are not large enough to pay the taxes necessary.”

“In other words, there will be no hip replacements and organ transplants for us,” says Marina. “By the time we are 70, we will be told our time is up, and we may not even be entitled to welfare funded pain management!”