Does anyone else think old people are something of a drag on the economy? Now, I'm not saying that old people can't live happy and productive lives. There are just a couple issues that I think need to be addressed if we want the economy to run more smoothly. 1) Since the start of the recession, I've heard news stories about older people who had to put off their retirement because the value of their stocks/assets fell, and how they'll have put off retirement for another ten years to make up for the loss. I empathize with their predicament, but I also think this ties up jobs and promotions that would have passed to younger workers. 2) Although life expectancy is increasing, I'm skeptical that the quality of life for the elderly has improved. What's the point of living until you're a hundred if you can't walk or talk anymore? Should we smother grandma with a pillow the first time she wets the bed? No. But I don't think it's right to medicate and operate and radiate every disease out of the elderly just to stay alive for a few more years.
are you saying folks should stop working at a certain age regardless of how much money they have? Like a 70 year old broke dude shouldn't earn a living?
The problem is that many of todays elders didnt leave the world a better place for us...its the duty of the older generation to leave the world a better place for the younger generation. That way the younger generation will make it their duty to take care of the older generation. But things got fucked up and now both sides are being effected. There needs to be a change in mentality to get us back on the right track, because we're being destructive to ourselves and not working as a whole. This country is also run by corrupt and greedy fucks, which doesnt help one bit.
#1. Overpopulation probably has a lot more to do with the lack of jobs out there than anything else. And it's only going to get worse. Politicians can only make so many promises of "creating" jobs, and certainly can't keep up with the population growth. #2. Your opinion will likely change drastically on this when YOU are the one lying in bed at age 60, still working, not really experienced true retirement, and are facing some life-threatening disease. That's the problem with life sometimes, it ends before you're finished experiencing all you wanted to. Prolonging life is a personal decision for most anyway, but the pressures to work until you're damn near dead have increased ten-fold in the last couple of generations, not to mention both spouses working, which all have had an effect on the elderly fighting for a "few more years" to actually enjoy retirement before falling over dead. Quality of life has a LOT to do with how you financially prepare yourself as well, and we're seeing the effects of a debt-riddled mentality now. If you're smart with your money, there's no reason anyone couldn't retire at 55 or 60 years old, instead of 70 or 75 years old.
I'm only 26 and I don't trust or like anyone I know over the age of 40. They just have a different value system and most of them I know have an "I know what's good for everyone!" tyrant value system. I am not down for that shit.
I don't think there should be a law that forces people out of the workforce at a certain age. But I think that if there are too many very young and very old people working, the rest of the work force suffers.
I agree with you--I think if you're sixty and you've never had time to follow your dreams and you come down with a serious illness, then you have every right and reason to fight it. But if you're eighty and you're starting to develop serious health problems... I think at some point you have to stop fighting against every disease that arises and let the dying process happen naturally. For a few different reasons, I just don't think it's right to keep old people alive at any cost and as long as possible.
I hope you remember you said this when you hit 80 and start having health issues of your own...when death is staring you in the face you just might start thinking a little different. I know when your young it seems like your never going to get old and gray....it happens so fast....man.....it's scary....when it's hard to look in the mirror to witness the damage of what time has done to what you once thought was an attractive face...Even so...I can almost guarantee you'll still want to live just as much as you do this very moment....and your still gonna want to light up that joint and feel that pleasure.....
In a lot of cultures they do. My Psych prof was talking about this the other day. Latino cultures value their elderly much more, and it's not unusual for parents to live with their kids when their much older. But our culture is a culture of the young. I agree with the OP that something must be done, but most options, while appealing to younger people, are quite cruel to the elderly. To me, it's sensible that when you're 85+, it's pretty much over (both of my great grandparents on my mom's side lived past 85, and their last 5-6 years of were just emotionally awful on everybody). Obviously this isn't true for all elderly people, and I'm not saying, "Just give up on life", but I know that if healthcare becomes socialized, I sure as hell don't want my tax dollars going towards life support for a 90 year old man with dementia. Or a 30 year old 500 pound man who can't stop stuffing bacon cheeseburgers down his gullet, for that matter. Some sort of compromise must be met, because no solutions will satisfy all generations.
People don't care about the elderly like they should. A while back me and some friends were out eating and when we came out of the restaurant some guy was mugging an old lady and everyone just stood there and watched. Made me sick. Finally I helped the guy get her purse and we split the money. Seriously though everybody gets there second child hood sooner or later.
Well I have read this thread with the replys... and all it has done for me is help me remember how "YOUNG and DUMB" I once was! when I was a YOUNG stoner in the 70's I thought pretty much my Dad was just an old fart and in the way. after about age 25 I realized I needed Dad's experience and wisdom. Now that I'm over 50 I am careful to harvest and store wisdom from any Old person that I visit with...don't get me wrong though I have also found alot of deep thinking amoung the young people I meet on the streets. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be so quick to think that economy, jobs, and money are more important than human resources.
I really don't think I'm going to change my mind on this. I want to face death with some level of dignity. I don't want my children to see me on my deathbed as a shell of the person I used to be. I feel strongly about this.
So what do we do about it? Say that once you're over 80, doctors aren't going to treat you anymore? What if you get to 80 years old and you're healthy as an ox, never had a serious medical problem, and one day you have a heart attack. A family member calls 911 and the operator says "oh, he's over 80? I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do. *click*" I mean, how do you regulate something like that when everybody ages at a different rate? There are some 90 year olds out there that are healthier than my grandma was at 60.
This is why more states need to allow assisted suicide. I sure as hell don't want to be bed ridden for years before I die.
I completely agree with you, and a lot of what you said. ...but as a younger person, I'm feeling a lot of frustration at the older generation. Yes, the young should respect and support the old, but older people should work to make the world a better place for the younger generation, and I really feel that isn't happening.
I don't think the way we care for old people is something that should be legally regulated. I just think there needs to be a change in the way we think about aging and dying. Like I said before, I don't think it's right to fight death by every means and at any cost.
you know what is really fucked up.. they take so much fucking money out of our pay for social security/medicare.. and us Young people arent going to even get half of it back cause they are trying to pay the older people back cause the gov took their money too...its all just fucked up, i say they drop the social security system and make it optional.. cause im good with my money, id just put what they would have taken from me into my own savings that i know will be there when im old.. and about old people id say about 35% of the elderly are really cool, and live by the "im gettin old, let me pass down my wisdom and enjoy my life"... but the rest are mean assholes, that think they know what is best for everyone and try to force this and that on people! and they just arent in touch with whats going on anymore..