What evidence is there for Snowdon's claim that end-of-life costs are similar regardless of the age at death? I was under the impression that it was a widely held assumption throughout the 20th century, but does not actually fit the facts.

For a nation to be doing reasonably well in economic terms these days economists point to the debt to GDP figure. Now if we stop spending money on health for the sick and elderly, there would be a lot of unemployment and loss of profits for that segment of the economy, but the debt to GDP would look better.

I guess there would be some pressure to spend the money on the crumbling infrastructure, which would help any one who works in those industries.

Or we could just all decide that the debt level is irrelevant, as everyone knows that central banks can just print all the money we need to run both industries flat out.

Maybe if we stopped poking our collective noses in the various civil wars around the world we would all be a lot better of .

Chris

misanthrope
Your point is one that will be discussed a length in the future. It is defiantly time for people to decide themselves when it is time to check out rather than someone else.

I am close to seventy and in good health.However in the future I want to be the one who decides it is time to move on not some big pharma rep. As one of the early boomer generation i believe this is one more social norm that we will reinvent.

Chris