It has been plausibly argued that the government might raid your retirement account and replace your investments with Treasury bills or bonds, thereby compelling you to accept low interest rates and increased danger of inflation. This has already been done in several other countries.
You and your life insurance company want you to enjoy a long life. But frankly, your government wishes otherwise.
If you are a typical retiree, your income tax has probably shrunk to the point where it's scarcely worth collecting.
On the other hand, you've become an expensive liability, eating up Social Security and Medicare funds at an alarming rate.
This problem -- and you are considered a "problem" -- has been exacerbated by ObamaCare, which requires that two healthy young people enroll to support three older sign-ups. The young are not cooperating; in fact, many of them will have to be subsidized. The Democrats won't dare antagonize them, since they are one of their most important supporting groups. So guess who's going to get thrown under the bus. You are living too long and spending too much healthcare money to do so. You must be persuaded to gracefully depart.
One way is healthcare rationing. You probably laughed when Sarah Palin began talking about ObamaCare death panels. But perhaps the numerous articles in this website have induced you to consider them seriously. I fear that the coming year will vindicate Nancy Pelosi's famous prediction; we shall find out more about healthcare rationing as the ramifications of ObamaCare unfold during the coming year. (A shocking example of Obamacare discrimination against the elderly was exposed here.)
But that may not be enough to balance the budget. Old people who should die and won't die may have to be persuaded to die.
It will take time for our nation to become accustomed to assisted suicide. So far, only three states have legalized it and only a few hundred people have availed themselves of the opportunity. At present, the public is about equally divided on the issue while doctors seem to be 2 to 1 against it. It will take even longer to gain public acceptance of "persuaded" suicide but (as the gay marriage movement has taught us) radical changes in public moral norms can be achieved by patience and persistence.
No comments:
Post a Comment